Greg Jelks
Encyclopedia
Gregory Dion Jelks is a former American Australian
baseballer who played with the Philadelphia Phillies
. He spent the majority of his career in the minor league
s, and is most notable playing with the Australia national baseball team
and the Perth Heat
in the Australian Baseball League.
, Jelks was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Phillies organisation in . The following summer Jelks made his debut with the Bend Phillies of the Northwest League
. The following year, Jelks hit 24 home runs and 75 RBI for the Spartanburg Spinners
in A class ball of the South Atlantic League
. In Jelks appeared in 123 AAA games for the Maine Guides
and that summer, Jelks was promoted to Philadelphia for 10 games, where out of eleven at bats he only collect one hit, a double off Montreal Expos
pitcher Neal Heaton
. Jelks became a free agent
again in and was signed by the St Louis Cardinals played for the Louisville Redbirds. Over the course of eight minor league seasons, Greg Jelks totaled 771 games, 96 home runs, 361 RBI, and a career batting average of .245.
During the 1990s, he played professionally in Italy
and Australia
. In , he started his ABL career with the Perth Heat
and Jelks enjoyed Australia, and decided to live in Perth
, where he earned dual citizenship. Apart from a short stint with the Melbourne Reds in 1996, Jelks continued to play for the Heat throughout the ABL, as well as with West Australia for the International Baseball League of Australia
.
He then played with the Australian national team
from to . In the 1997 Intercontinental Cup
, Greg batted an impressive .471/.538/1.088 to help Australia win a bronze medal
for the first time ever in a global event. He was second in average in the event behind Paul Gonzalez
and tied Orestes Kindelán
for the home run lead. He was named on the All-Star team of the cup at designated hitter
. The following year at the 1998 Baseball World Cup
, he hit .278 as the starting left fielder
for Australia and helped Australia to silver at the Haarlem Baseball Week
. Jelks went on to play in the 1999 Intercontinental Cup
and 2000 Sydney Olympics.
of the independent Frontier League
. In 2006, he was appointed to a coaching role for the national team at the 2006 World Baseball Classic
.
Later that year, Greg led the Otters to a championship . The following season, he was hired by the Frontier League as the manager of the fledgling expansion team the Slippery Rock Sliders
. The Sliders were a concept team, building off a unique relationship with Slippery Rock University. Following a year of poor fan reception and a last place finish in the league, the Slippery Rock Sliders folded and the franchise became the Midwest Sliders, a travelling team in the league's Eastern Division. Greg Jelks was hired by the Washington Wild Things
the following December, and will begin the 2008 season managing his third Frontier League franchise. Jelks was let go by the Wildthings after he did not lead them to the playoffs, and to a 48-48 record.
American Australian
American Australians are Australians who are either born in, or descended from migrants from the United States and its territories. This can include people of European, African American, American Indian, Latin American, Asian, or Pacific Islander backgrounds....
baseballer who played with the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
. He spent the majority of his career in the minor league
Minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...
s, and is most notable playing with the Australia national baseball team
Australia national baseball team
The Australian national baseball team represents Australia in international baseball tournaments and competitions. They are ranked as the top team in Oceania, and are the Oceanian Champions, having been awarded the title in 2007 when New Zealand withdrew from the Oceania Baseball Championship. They...
and the Perth Heat
Perth Heat
The baseball team Perth Heat is a team in the current Australian Baseball League and a foundation member of the now-defunct Australian Baseball League...
in the Australian Baseball League.
Professional career
Born in Cherokee, AlabamaCherokee, Alabama
Cherokee incorporated December 7 1871 is a town in west Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Florence - Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Statistical Area known as "The Shoals". As of the 2000 census, the population of the town is 1,237....
, Jelks was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Phillies organisation in . The following summer Jelks made his debut with the Bend Phillies of the Northwest League
Northwest League
The Northwest League of Professional Baseball is a Class A-Short Season minor baseball league. The league is the descendant of the Western International League which ran as a class B league from 1937-1951 and class A from 1952-1954...
. The following year, Jelks hit 24 home runs and 75 RBI for the Spartanburg Spinners
Spartanburg Spinners
The Spartanburg Spinners were a minor league baseball team located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The team played in the South Atlantic League. Their home stadium was Duncan Park....
in A class ball of the South Atlantic League
South Atlantic League
The South Atlantic League is a minor league baseball league based chiefly in the Southeastern United States, with the exception of three teams in the Mid-Atlantic States...
. In Jelks appeared in 123 AAA games for the Maine Guides
Maine Guides
The Maine Guides were an American minor league baseball franchise that played in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, between 1984 and 1988. The Triple-A International League club was named for a classification of registered hunting and wilderness guides in the state called Maine Guides for its first four...
and that summer, Jelks was promoted to Philadelphia for 10 games, where out of eleven at bats he only collect one hit, a double off Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
pitcher Neal Heaton
Neal Heaton
Neal Heaton is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher who played for the Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Montreal Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, and New York Yankees from 1982 to 1993.Heaton was drafted by the Indians in the 2nd round of the 1981...
. Jelks became a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
again in and was signed by the St Louis Cardinals played for the Louisville Redbirds. Over the course of eight minor league seasons, Greg Jelks totaled 771 games, 96 home runs, 361 RBI, and a career batting average of .245.
During the 1990s, he played professionally in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. In , he started his ABL career with the Perth Heat
Perth Heat
The baseball team Perth Heat is a team in the current Australian Baseball League and a foundation member of the now-defunct Australian Baseball League...
and Jelks enjoyed Australia, and decided to live in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, where he earned dual citizenship. Apart from a short stint with the Melbourne Reds in 1996, Jelks continued to play for the Heat throughout the ABL, as well as with West Australia for the International Baseball League of Australia
International Baseball League of Australia
The International Baseball League of Australia was a baseball league which existed from 1999 to 2002.The league was created by David Nilsson after he purchased the rights to the Australian Baseball League in 1999 when it was near financial collapse...
.
He then played with the Australian national team
Australia national baseball team
The Australian national baseball team represents Australia in international baseball tournaments and competitions. They are ranked as the top team in Oceania, and are the Oceanian Champions, having been awarded the title in 2007 when New Zealand withdrew from the Oceania Baseball Championship. They...
from to . In the 1997 Intercontinental Cup
1997 Intercontinental Cup
The 1997 Intercontinental Cup was a football match played on 2 December 1997 between Borussia Dortmund, winners of the 1996-97 UEFA Champions League, and Cruzeiro, winners of the 1997 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the neutral venue of the National Stadium in Tokyo in front of 46,953 fans...
, Greg batted an impressive .471/.538/1.088 to help Australia win a bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
for the first time ever in a global event. He was second in average in the event behind Paul Gonzalez
Paul Gonzalez
Paul Gonzalez is the general manager of the Brisbane Bandits and former Australian third baseman...
and tied Orestes Kindelán
Orestes Kindelán
Orestes Kindelán Olivares is the most prolific home run hitter in the history of post-revolutionary Cuban baseball, well known as "El Cañon de Dos Rios" and one of the offensive stars of the Cuban national baseball team, which won numerous World Cups and two Olympic gold medals during his tenure...
for the home run lead. He was named on the All-Star team of the cup at designated hitter
Designated hitter
In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...
. The following year at the 1998 Baseball World Cup
1998 Baseball World Cup
The 1998 Baseball World Cup took place in Italy from July 21 to August 2.Participating countries were split in two groups, with the first four of each group qualifying for the finals...
, he hit .278 as the starting left fielder
Left fielder
In baseball, a left fielder is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
for Australia and helped Australia to silver at the Haarlem Baseball Week
Haarlem Baseball Week
The Haarlemse Honkbalweek is an international invitation baseball tournament at the Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, Netherlands...
. Jelks went on to play in the 1999 Intercontinental Cup
1999 Intercontinental Cup
The 1999 Intercontinental Cup was a football match played on 30 November 1999 between Manchester United, winners of the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League, and Palmeiras, winners of the 1999 Copa Libertadores...
and 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Managerial career
Jelks began his professional managerial career in when he helped coach Australia at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and started head coaching in 2002 when he took the helm of the Evansville OttersEvansville Otters
The Evansville Otters are a professional baseball team based in Evansville, Indiana, in the United States. The Otters are a member of the West Division of the Frontier League, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball...
of the independent Frontier League
Frontier League
The Frontier League, based in Sauget, Illinois, is a professional, independent baseball organization located in the Midwestern United States, Western Pennsylvania, and Southern Ontario. It operates mostly in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either...
. In 2006, he was appointed to a coaching role for the national team at the 2006 World Baseball Classic
2006 World Baseball Classic
---------Pool B:-------------Pool C:-------------Pool D:-------------Pool 1:-----------------Pool 2:-------------Finals:-Semifinals:-Final:-Final standings:...
.
Later that year, Greg led the Otters to a championship . The following season, he was hired by the Frontier League as the manager of the fledgling expansion team the Slippery Rock Sliders
Slippery Rock Sliders
The Slippery Rock Sliders are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, in the United States. They are a member of the East Division of the summer collegiate Prospect League.-Frontier League past:...
. The Sliders were a concept team, building off a unique relationship with Slippery Rock University. Following a year of poor fan reception and a last place finish in the league, the Slippery Rock Sliders folded and the franchise became the Midwest Sliders, a travelling team in the league's Eastern Division. Greg Jelks was hired by the Washington Wild Things
Washington Wild Things
The Washington Wild Things are a professional baseball team based in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The Wild Things are a member of the East Division of the Frontier League, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball...
the following December, and will begin the 2008 season managing his third Frontier League franchise. Jelks was let go by the Wildthings after he did not lead them to the playoffs, and to a 48-48 record.