User:Dwills2009/Andre Jacob

Maxwell Andre Davidson-Jacob
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-		 -	Amateur career -		 -	Jacob graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in 1999.

He then attended Florida State University playing on the Seminoles football and baseball teams. He has twice been runner-up for the National College Player of the Year 2003 and 2004, playing for the legendary Mike Martin. He earned first team All-American by Collegiate baseball Magazine, Baseball America, Playboy Magazine, ESPN The Magazine, USA Today News and The Sporting News. He was invited to visit the White House and dine with President George W. Bush along with the rest of the Baseball America honorees.

Throughout college, he pitched a collective 1.29 ERA with a total of 516 strikes-outs, while batting a .309 with 47 home runs and 216 RBI. While leading Florida State University to four consecutive appearance to the NCAA College World Series. He was named to the 2003 and 2004 first team All Collegiate World Series Baseball Team. -	On June 28, 2004, he was resigned and undisclosed multi-million dollar contract with the New York Mets.

-		 -	Minor League Career -		 -	After the New York Mets drafted Jacob as the 5th overall pick in 2004, the team assigned him to play with their "AA" minor league affiliate, Kissimmee. In only 53 games, he pitched an 1.73 ERA while only allowing 2 HR and 35 RBI. In 2005, his second minor league season, he was promoted to class "AAA" Jackson. His potential was beginning to show, as he pitched an even better 1.36 and allowed 4 HR with 19 RBI over 27 games for manager Jim Pankovitz. The Mets took notice, and they granted him a mid-season promotion to their major league roster, New York Mets. He played 17 games in New York, before being sent back down to "AA" minor league affiliate, Kissimmee. 2005 would prove to be his last full season in the minor leagues. In 2006, Jacob was eight weeks through a great season in New Orleans when he was called up to the parent club, the New York Mets again. Prior to the promotion, he had been pitching a robust .323, although he only pitched in 16 games he had given up 0 HR and 6 RBI. Before being called up to the Majors, he was the starting pitcher in the 2006 MLB All-Star Futures Game.

-		 -	Major League Career -		 -	Throughout his entire high school, college, and minor league career, Jacob had been a starting pitcher. With the Mets having an already entrenched starting five, Jacob was forced to assume a role in the bullpen as a middle relief pitcher. His first stint with the Mets ended with 17 games played. He was demoted during the season for seasoning.

The demotion proved brief, however; 16 games into the season, New York again requested his services, and Jacob showed the club why they had used their first round pick on him. Again assigned to middle relief duties, he pitched and average of 2 innings with an ERA of .297, 21 HR and 67 RBI. This firmly established him in the Mets lineup, until he experience his first major injury.

After the All-Star break Jacob was schedule for reconstructive surgery to his pitching hand's ring-finger. In 2007 after rehabbing in Houston, Texas he continued his education at Rice University. At Rice University he worked on his Master degree in Professional and Creative Writing while rehabbing at Baylor College of Medicine located in the Houston Medical Center just blocks away from Rice University. Jacob spent countless hours rehabbing and working out with the Rice University baseball team.

After graduating with a Masters from Rice in the May of 2007, Jacob was reassigned to New Orleans Zephyrs their Triple-A affiliate. There Jacobs struggle with control for the two months of live game situation pitching. Posting a tremendous season ERA of 6.31 while giving up 34 HR and 72 RBI. After 49 games Jacob return to Houston for more intese rehabbing and was ready for Spring Training the second week of February 2008.

With the Mets shuffling their roster around before the 2008 season, Jacob agreed to multi-player trade to the Balitmore Orioles. Jacob being sent to the Double A affilate, Bowie Baysox quickly regain his form that showed why the New York Mets had selected in the first round of the 2004 draft. After 10 games Balitmore reassigned Jacob to their Triple A affilate, Norfolk Tides. Although he lacks the power and effective curve he had before his injury, Jacob had gain an aggressive slider and split finger one seam fast ball, allowing him to drop is ERA down to a 2.62 by midseason. Jacob still dealing with pain in his pitching hand opted to return to Baylor College of Medicine for a better evaluation after not agreeing with Georgetown or University of Maryland - Baltimore medical doctors. At the advice of his agent, Leigh Steinberg and Dr. Walter Mosley, Jacob sat out the remainder of the minor league season but stated, "When they are ready for me to be apart of the Baltimore team that is when I will be ready to play." Jacob was more upset with the team stance on his contract, Baltimore wanted to restructure Jacob's contact with more incentive base options. Jacob then spent the remainder of the 2008 season traveling and working on different writing projects.

Holding out at the beginning of the 2009 season the Baltimore Orioles locked Jacob out pending a contract reconstruction. Jacob now offically not having played almost a full season worked out a contractual agreement to return to Baltimore pending a few guidelines. Currently the jury is still out on Jacob who once show New York Mets and fans why he was tagged as one of MLB rising stars.

- -	Personal Life -		 -	Andre Jacob is currently single but has been linked at times to have been dating B Class Actresses. He is the third child of five from Mr. and Mrs. Dalton Jacob. Jacob love for writing has learn him to freelance of the years for several top notch publications including ESPN The Magazine. Other projects the Jacobs continue to follow have been an apparel clothing line while at Rice University and co-hosting sports talk radio. -		 -