Athletes - Brook Jacoby

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	Athletes - Brook Jacoby

Brook Wallace Jacoby (born November 23, 1959 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball. Jacoby played in the major leagues from 1981 trough 1992, and in Japanese baseball in 1993. He batted and threw right handed.

Early career

Jacoby was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 7th round of the 1979 amateur draft. He played in the Braves' minor league system for five years, until being traded to the Cleveland Indians in 1983 along with Brett Butler and Rick Behenna. In exchange, Atlanta got Cleveland pitcher Len Barker.

Major league career

1984 was Jacoby's first full major league season (he had seen some playing time in Atlanta in 1981 and 1983, but only for a total of 15 games), where he had a .264 batting average with 116 hits and seven home runs. A rather good start for a rookie, he would improve these statistics in 1985. That season, he improved his batting average to .274, as well as 166 hits, 20 home runs, and a career high 87 RBI. Jacoby was a poor baserunner and would often strike out (193 in two seasons).

1986 was a landmark year for Jacoby, as he earned his first All-Star Game appearance. While his statistics only improved slightly over last year's (his average went up to .288 and had 168 hits, but had less home runs and RBI and more strike outs compared to last year).

In 1987, Jacoby had the best year of his career, as he batted .300 and had a career high 32 home runs. In addition, he lowered his strike out number to only 73. Jacoby's best season was one of only a few bright spots for a Cleveland team that finished with a record of 62-100.

Jacoby went into a slump in 1988, where he hit .241 and his offensive production on all levels was worse than last season. In spite of this, Jacoby still found playing time as he was Cleveland's only sufficient third baseman. 1989 would show a small improvement over last year, as he raised his average to .272 and increased his offensive production. Jacoby once again showed improvement in 1990, as his average was .293 and was hitting like he had been during the mid 80s, and also had his lowest number of strikeouts ever (58) and earned his second All-Star appearance.

1990 would turn out to be Jacoby's last full season. He was being held back by an elbow injury, and in the middle of what was a lackluster year was traded to the Oakland Athletics for Lee Tinsley. In total, he hit .224 with only 94 hits and four home runs.

Despite being sent to Oakland, it wasn't long before Jacoby came back to Cleveland. He became a free agent after 1991, and signed with the Indians in 1992. Although he was signed to back-up starting third baseman Jim Thome, Thome broke his wrist and Jacoby took over the starting job. Sinking to career lows in hits, home runs, and RBIs, he was let go by the Indians at the end of the season. He would eventually find work in Japan playing for the Chunichi Dragons, but retired after he had an average of only .183 in 18 games.

Many baseball experts would agree that Jacoby had an average career. He was a decent hitter (a total of 1,220 hits) and fielder, but he lacked extra-base power and plate discipline.

In 2001, when the Cleveland Indians were celebrating their 100th anniversary, Jacoby was named one of the "100 Greatest Indians". He was among a list that included such greats as Al Rosen, Bob Feller, and Lou Boudreau.

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