Marcus Jensen

From SoSH

Marcus Christian Jensen (born December 14, 1972 in Oakland, California) was a switch-hitting catcher drafted by the San Francisco Giants with the 33rd pick of the 1990 amateur draft. He appeared in one game for the Boston Red Sox in 2001.

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Jensen's Moments in the Sun 3 Trivia 4 Transactions 5 External Links

Overall Career

Drafted by San Francisco in 1990 as their catcher of the future, Jensen worked his way through the Giants' minor league system and received a September call up in 1996. He appeared in nine games, hitting .211 in 19 at-bats. After hitting only .149 in 30 games with the Giants in 1997, Jensen was traded to Detroit where he split time between the parent club and Triple-A Toledo. Released by the Tigers in March 1998, Jensen appeared in two games with the Brewers in September.

After a brief stop with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1999, Jensen appeared in a career-high 52 games with the Minnesota Twins in 2000, hitting .209 with career-highs in runs (16), hits (29), doubles (7), home runs (3) and RBI (14). In August, Jensen was selected to the United States Olympic Team, where he shared catching duties with former Blue Jay Pat Borders, and won a gold medal.

The Red Sox claimed Jensen off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers following Spring Training in 2001 and assigned him to Pawtucket. He remained there until June 8, when Jason Varitek was placed on the disabled list. Jensen appeared in just one game with Boston, a 4-2 loss to the Florida Marlins on June 13. He was waived when Boston traded Justin Duchscherer to the Texas Rangers for catcher Doug Mirabelli on June 14. The next day Texas claimed him to replace Mirabelli, who had been filling in for Bill Hasselman. After a week of serving as Ivan Rodriguez's backup, Jensen was demoted to Triple-A Oklahoma when Hasselman was activated from the disabled list.

Jensen returned to Milwaukee in 2002 appearing in 16 games when starting catcher Raul Cassanova was placed on the disabled list. Opting for free agency following the season, Jensen signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies on January 17, 2003, but was dealt to the New York Yankees on March 27 and used as a backup to Michel Hernandez at Triple-A Columbus.

In 2004 Jensen played with the Cancun Langosteros of the Mexican League and in 2005 with the Mesa Miners of the Golden Baseball League.

Jensen's Moments in the Sun

• Won an Olympic gold medal for the United States in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Trivia

• Grandfather Mickey Kemper played in the Negro Leagues.
• Olympic teammates with Doug Mientkiewicz.

Transactions

• June 4, 1990: Drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 1st round (33rd pick) of the 1990 amateur draft. Player signed June 15, 1990.
• July 16, 1997: Traded by the San Francisco Giants to the Detroit Tigers for Brian Johnson.
• July 22, 1997: Granted Free Agency.
• July 26, 1997: Signed as a Free Agent with the Detroit Tigers.
• March 25, 1998: Released by the Detroit Tigers.
• April 5, 1998: Signed as a Free Agent with the Milwaukee Brewers.
• September 29, 1998: Released by the Milwaukee Brewers.
• January 13, 1999: Signed as a Free Agent with the St. Louis Cardinals.
• October 15, 1999: Granted Free Agency.
• January 4, 2000: Signed as a Free Agent with the Minnesota Twins.
• October 2, 2000: Granted Free Agency.
• December 18, 2000: Signed as a Free Agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• April 1, 2001: Released by the Los Angeles Dodgers
• May 2, 2001: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox.
• June 15, 2001: Selected off waivers by the Texas Rangers from the Boston Red Sox.
• October 11, 2001: Granted Free Agency.
• January 18, 2002: Signed as a Free Agent with the Milwaukee Brewers.
• January 20, 2003: Signed as a Free Agent with the Philadelphia Phillies.
• March 26, 2003: Contract purchased by the New York Yankees from the Philadelphia Phillies.
• October 15, 2003: Granted free agency.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis