Jason Edward Repko (born December 27, 1980, in East Chicago, Indiana) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Naturally a centerfielder, his career has been slowed by numerous injuries.

[edit] High School Years

Repko attended Hanford High School in Richland, Washington, and was a letterman in baseball. As a senior, he posted a .581 batting average with 18 home runs and 14 stolen bases. He also clocked a 94 MPH fastball from the mound. A High School All-American infielder, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1st round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft, Repko skipped his high school graduation ceremony and passed on a scholarship with San Diego State University to sign with the Dodgers.

[edit] Minor leagues

He started his professional career as a shortstop with the rookie league Great Falls Dodgers, hitting .304 with 8 homers and 12 steals and being selected to the Pioneer League All-Star Team.

His career was slowed when he suffered a torn hamstring during extended spring training in 2000 and missed most of the season. He then suffered a broken vertebra on the right side of his back, and only managed to play in 88 games for Single-A Wilmington in 2001.

Finally healthy for an entire season in 2002, the Dodgers had him switch positions from shortstop, where he had played previously, to center field while playing for the Vero Beach Dodgers. Repko hit .272 for Vero Beach, with 9 homers and 29 steals that season and was selected to the Florida State League All-Star team.

He played for the Double-A Jacksonville Suns in 2003 and split 2004 between Jacksonville and the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s.

[edit] Major leagues

He made his MLB debut on April 6, 2005, against the San Francisco Giants. He singled off Jason Christiansen in the sixth inning for his first major league hit. His first major league home run came on April 10 in Arizona off Oscar Villarreal and homered in his first at bat at Dodger Stadium on April 12 against the Giants. He hit .221 with 8 home runs and 30 rbi for the Dodgers in 2005, playing in 129 games.

In 2006, he was off to a fast start, but suffered a high ankle sprain and missed 2 1/2 months, returning to the Dodgers on July 24. Repko never received much playing time after returning, buried behind the outfield rotation of J.D. Drew, Kenny Lofton, Andre Ethier, Marlon Anderson, and Matt Kemp.

Repko underwent a surgical procedure on October 20 that kept him sidelined for the first half of spring training in 2007 and then when he was finally cleared to play, he immediately suffered another injury...colliding with Rafael Furcal on a play in a spring training game, he tore his hamstring, sidelining him for the entire 2007 season and causing a severe ankle injury that hampered Furcal all season..

Repko played his first game of 2008 on June 30 against the Houston Astros, going 0 for 4 with 4 strikeouts. He appeared in 22 games at the end of the season with the Dodgers after spending the majority of the season in AAA with Las Vegas.

In 2009 he played with the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes and then appeared in 10 games with the Dodgers in September, primarily as a pinch runner or late inning defensive replacement.

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube
• Report on Repko returning from the Disabled List and attitude about injury