FORT MYERS, FLA. — The back of Jay Jackson’s baseball card will show he had a solid 2023 season. He had a 2.12 ERA in 25 relief appearances with the Toronto Blue Jays with nearly a strikeout per inning.
New Twins reliever Jay Jackson thrived in 2023 with his premature baby on his mind
The 36-year-old righthander is a strong candidate for a middle innings role in bullpen.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 19, 2024 at 4:23PM
Except those stats don’t highlight what Jackson went through during the season.
Jackson’s youngest son, JR, was born July 6 at 24 weeks old, weighing one pound and 10.5 ounces. Born nearly four months premature, JR remained in a newborn intensive care unit in Salt Lake City. Jackson, often pitching on the other side of the country or in Canada, flew to Utah on his off days.
He earned his first win last season – his first in the major leagues in nearly two years – hours after his son was born. He was called up for a doubleheader in Chicago and shortly after he finished packing, he received a call at 2:45 a.m. that his fiancée was in labor. Within an hour, the premature baby was born. His fiancée encouraged him to fly to Chicago first, where he pitched 1⅓ scoreless innings, before traveling to University of Utah Health.
“I just tried to be the best dad and fiancé I could, continued to do try to do that, and just tried to do my job when I’m here,” said Jackson, a righthanded reliever. “As far as that, I was happy with my season. I think I could have been a little bit better. I think I could have improved on a couple of things here and there and I’m going to try to.”
A week before Christmas, Jackson’s son was cleared to go home after spending 166 days in the NICU. That made it already a great offseason. Then he was rewarded for the way he pitched in 2023 when he signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Twins.
It hasn’t been an easy road for Jackson’s career. The 36-year-old is with his sixth organization in the last six years. He spent four years pitching in Japan after he made his MLB debut in 2015.
“It’s pretty crazy, but it means a lot,” Jackson said of his first guaranteed one-year deal. “It means the hard work from all those past years paid off a little bit.”
After an emotional year in a roller coaster of a career, Jackson said there were two things he sought in free agency: An opportunity for a regular role and a chance to play on a World Series contender.
“The main goal is the World Series,” Jackson said. “I just want that. Check the box to finish the career to a certain extent.”
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