BALTIMORE — Edwin Jackson was born in what was West Germany to a military family and was 8 years old when they relocated to Georgia.
“The flying part wasn’t a big deal. I thought I was just going back to be closer to cousins,” Jackson recalled.
But that disruption was nothing like the pro baseball career that awaited him —not even close.
When Jackson, 35, took the mound for the Blue Jays for the first time in May, he set a record by appearing in a game for his 14th major league team, snapping a tie with Octavio Dotel.
“It was predestined,” Jackson said of his constant moves. “I am used to moving, picking up and making new friends.”
It is common for critics to scoff at Jackson’s 14-club resume. Why couldn’t he stick in one place? Was it something about his character as a teammate?
“I think that is the first question I get,” Jackson said. “I have been traded after an All-Star year. I have been let go after a disappointing season.” “Maybe it was monetary reasons” on other occasions.
According to new Washington Nationals pitcher Daniel Hudson, whose father was also in the military, “no one has ever said anything bad” about Jackson. Hudson started the year as Jackson’s teammate in Toronto.
Jackson did not last long with Toronto. The Blue Jays released him July 19 after he went 1-5 with 11.12 ERA over eight games. But he was picked up by Detroit two days later and sent to Triple-A Toledo, where he has made two starts so far.
“It is a testament to him that teams want him,” Hudson said earlier this year.
They were teammates in Toronto. But in July 2010, they were actually on opposite sides of the same trade — the Diamondbacks dealt Jackson to the White Sox in return for Hudson.
Jackson made his MLB debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003 and then played for Tampa Bay, Detroit, Arizona, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis, Washington, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta, Miami, San Diego, Baltimore, Washington (again), Oakland last year and most recently the Blue Jays.
He was an All-Star in 2009 with Detroit, helped the Cardinals win the World Series in 2011 and has a career record of 105-128. Jackson was part of the Nationals’ starting rotation in 2012 when Washington won its first National League East title.
“It was a fun team. It was a great baseball city,” said Jackson, who was 10-11, 4.03 in 31 starts that season.
But after that season, he signed a long-term contract with the Cubs – one of the few times as a pro he stayed in the same place for a spell.
“He never had that security except for three years with the Cubs,” Hudson said. “He has basically been year to year for a long time.”
Jackson’s father, Edwin Jackson, Sr., was in the U.S. Army when the younger Jackson was born in Neu-Ulm, West Germany in 1983. The pitcher has a younger and older sister, and he spent part of his youth in Louisiana before they settled in Columbus, Georgia.
As a young boy, Jackson was a standout athlete at Shaw High School, playing several sports. His parents still live there after his father retired after more than two decades as a U.S. Army Sergeant First Class.
Jackson spends the offseason with his wife, Erika, and their three children in Arizona. His wife was an Air Force brat as a child. They have a 7-year-old son, a 6-year-old daughter and a boy coming up on his second birthday.
Their kids won’t live the same life Jackson did as an army brat.
“I never had any plans on going into the military,” Jackson said. “I am very appreciative of what the military does, but it was not for me.”
Jackson has no regrets about falling short of playing for just one team, a la Cal Ripken, Jr. or Tony Gwynn.
“I never really questioned the process,” he said. “It wasn’t meant to be. People say I should write a book when I am done.”
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