JACKSON JR Edwin

General
MOVING HOME, MOVING CLUB
He was born in Neu-Ulm, in what was then the Federal Republic of Germany, to a US military family. His father, Edwin Jackson Sr., started off as a cook in the US Army. Edwin grew up in Neu-Ulm and moved to the US at age eight, spending time in both Louisiana and Fort Benning in Georgia, where his father was promoted to sergeant first class and head of the mess hall, serving meals each day to Fort Benning's 100,000 residents. Edwin Jr.'s wife, Erika, is a child of US Air Force parents, which is how they met as kids. Neither he nor Erika, however, were ever interested in joining the military. "I never had any plans on going into the military. I am very appreciative of what the military does, but it was not for me." He says his experience of moving around as a child "pre-destined" him for the wandering baseball lifestyle he has led while playing for 14 MLB teams. "Life has been on the move for me as long as I remember. My wife and I, we're professional packers." (mlb.com, 25 Jan 2021; vivaelbirdos.com, 06 Apr 2020; washtingtontimes.com, 05 Aug 2019; army.mil, 08 Nov 2015)

CLUB JOURNEY
He was drafted out of high school by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the sixth round, 190th overall pick, of the 2001 MLB Draft. From 2001 to 2003 he spent three seasons in the minor leagues, before making his major league debut for the Dodgers on his 20th birthday in September 2003. He would go on to play for a record of 14 MLB teams from 2003 to 2019, featuring in more than 400 MLB games. In 2020 he was released by the Arizona Diamondbacks' affiliate minor league team Reno Aces. (milb.com, 22 May 2021; mlb.com, 29 May 2021; vivaelbirdos.com, 06 Apr 2020)

PLAYING UNTIL 40
He has considered retiring from baseball after the Olympic Games in Tokyo, but, if possible, he wants to play Major League Baseball again. "I still plan on playing, and I had a great time in Detroit [Tigers]. I had a great time in Toronto [Blue Jays]. I'm always blessed when I have an opportunity to put on a big league uniform. To let my wife tell it, she says that somebody is going to have to pull me off the field by my ear. She says I'm definitely going to try and play until I'm 40. I'm not afraid to take on whatever's in front of me. I won't say I've been through it all because every time I say that something new comes along. But I've been through a lot more than most. I'm ready. I still have fun playing this game. We get to go out and play a game we love to play for a living. You can't ask for much more than that." (sbnation.com, 02 Jan 2020)

In May 2019, when he made his debut for the Toronto Blue Jays at age 35, he became the first player to play for 14 MLB teams. (mlb.com, 16 May 2019)