Before there was Manuel Margot, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Jacoby Ellsbury, there was Jeremy Owens.
Before those high-profiled prospects wore a Portland Sea Dogs uniform, Owens was the best center fielder the Boston Red Sox had sent to Hadlock Field.
LEAGUE'S BEST IN PORTLAND
WHAT: Eastern League All-Star Game
WHEN: 7 p.m. Wednesday
WHERE: Hadlock Field, Portland
Owens natural instincts told him where a baseball was headed. He quickly and gracefully tracked down every fly ball and line drive hit his way.
Owens was already 26 when the Red Sox signed him in 2003. Originally an eighth-round draft pick of the Padres, Owens struggled as a hitter and was going nowhere with San Diego.
But in 2003, Owens hit well enough for the Sea Dogs to be named to the Eastern League All-Star Game.
Owens’ Sea Dogs teammates in that game included pitcher Jorge De La Rosa, who is still pitching in the major leagues, and Kevin Youkilis, who would celebrate a World Series championship with the Red Sox the following season.
“It was a great honor,” Owens said.
That honor was extended to over 50 players recently, named to the 2015 Eastern League All-Star Game, which will be played Wednesday at Hadlock Field.
There will be players similar to Youkilis and De La Rosa, who will enjoy lengthy career in the majors, and players like Owens, who won’t see the big leagues but will keep grinding it out because they love the game.
This year is the first that Owens, 38, is not playing pro baseball since 1998. He has transitioned from a player-coach for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs to simply the team’s hitting coach.
Owens joined the Blue Crabs, who play in the independent Atlantic League, in 2008. His last fling with affiliated baseball ended earlier that season – when he played 18 games for Tampa Bay’s Triple-A team, the Durham Bulls. He went to Maryland and met his manager, Butch Hobson, the former Boston Red Sox manager.
“Butch Hobson asked me what I wanted to do when my playing days were over,” Owens said. “I said I love baseball. He made me a player coach.
“He taught me how to help guys out.”
Owens knows what good coaching can do. He credits 2003 Sea Dogs Manager Ron Johnson with helping him go from a so-so hitter to someone who hit .263/.810 OPS with 21 home runs.
After the 2003 regular season, Owens was sent to Triple-A to help Pawtucket in the playoffs. Then in spring training of 2004, Owens found himself in several major league games.
“I’m practicing and playing with those guys; all those Hall-of-Fame guys – Manny (Ramirez), (David) Ortiz and Pedro (Martinez) walking around the clubhouse,” Owens said.
Owens played in Pawtucket in 2004, but his offensive production never equaled his exceptional defense. He batted .228/.686.
“I played it all out – don’t regret anything,” Owens said. “I love the sport. I had opportunities.”
With the Blue Crabs, Owens welcomed a new manager this year, Stan Cliburn. In 2003 it was Cliburn, then manager of the New Britain Rock Cats, who managed Owens in the Eastern League All-Star Game.
Back in 2003, Owens could not have foreseen still being in pro ball – now in his 17th season. His true loves are his wife of 15 years and two sons. But baseball is obviously a huge part of his life. He’s been a player and coach; and because of one shining season 12 years ago in Portland, he was also called an All-Star.
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