Edwin Jackson

When the Diamondbacks traded Jackson to the White Sox, he became the first pitcher in the Majors to be traded away in the same season that he pitched a no-hitter since Cliff Chambers pitched a no-hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Boston Braves in 1951.

Edwin Jackson Jr. (born September 9, 1983) is a German-born American former professional baseball pitcher.

Jackson became the first German-born pitcher to throw a no-hitter, the first African American to do so since Dwight Gooden in 1996, and the first African American to do so for a National League team since Bob Gibson in 1971.

Jackson attended Shaw High School in Columbus, Georgia from 1997 to 2001.

While attending Shaw High School, Jackson played outfield for the Raider baseball team.

His senior year, Jackson helped lead the Raiders baseball team to the 2001 GHSA AAAA State Championship title over Columbus High School in Columbus, Georgia.

The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Jackson in the sixth round of the 2001 MLB draft.

He was originally drafted as an outfielder but the Dodgers converted him into a pitcher.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2003 to 2019 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays, Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics, and Toronto Blue Jays.

There was a time when Jackson was regarded as one of the premier pitching prospects in baseball (after posting sub-4.00 earned run averages (ERAs) in AA and the majors at age 19 in 2003), but poor showings in AAA and MLB after that season ended his status as a "can't-miss" prospect.

He made his major league debut on September 9, 2003, his 20th birthday.

In that game, he pitched six innings, giving up one run and out-pitching Cy Young Award-winner Randy Johnson to earn his first career major league victory.

It was only the second no-hitter in Diamondbacks' history, the other being Randy Johnson's perfect game on May 18, 2004, as well as the fourth of the 2010 season, and the third time the Rays had been no-hit in less than 12 months.

Jackson's 149-pitch performance included eight walks and a hit batter, and was aided by the defensive performances of Mark Reynolds, Tony Abreu, and Adam LaRoche (whose second-inning home run accounted for the game's only run).

On January 14, 2006, Jackson and left-handed pitcher Chuck Tiffany were traded to Tampa Bay for pitchers Danys Báez and Lance Carter.

In 2006, Jackson pitched in 23 games, mostly in middle relief, and posted a 5.45 ERA in 36 1⁄3 innings.

In 2007, Jackson became a full-time starter for the Rays.

He began the season poorly, going 1–9 with a 7.23 ERA in 17 games over 74 2⁄3 innings.

Jackson managed to rebound somewhat after the All-Star break, posting a 4–6 record and a 4.48 ERA over 15 games, all of them starts.

His season highlight came in a start against the Texas Rangers on August 11, in which he recorded a shutout, allowing only four hits and one walk while striking out eight.

Jackson finished the season with a 5–15 record and an ERA of 5.76.

In 2008, Jackson assumed the number four spot in the Rays' starting rotation out of spring training.

He finished the season with a 4.42 ERA.

Jackson tied with James Shields to lead the Rays with 14 victories, which also tied the record for most wins by a Rays pitcher.

On December 10, 2008, Jackson was traded to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for outfielder Matt Joyce.

Jackson made his Tigers debut on April 7, 2009, against the Toronto Blue Jays.

He allowed one run in 7 1⁄3 innings, and received a no decision in Detroit's 5–4 loss.

He earned his first victory with Detroit on April 18 against the Seattle Mariners, pitching 7 2⁄3 scoreless innings.

Jackson was selected to represent Detroit in the 2009 All-Star Game along with teammates Curtis Granderson, Justin Verlander, and Brandon Inge.

He pitched a scoreless fifth inning for the AL, retiring Yadier Molina, Ryan Zimmerman, and Hanley Ramírez on four pitches.

At the end of July, opposing batters were hitting .216 against him, which was the lowest batting average in the league; he was followed by Matt Garza (.222), Jarrod Washburn (.224), and Scott Feldman (.228).

On December 9, 2009, Jackson was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks as part of a three team trade that brought Austin Jackson, Phil Coke, Max Scherzer, and Daniel Schlereth to the Tigers.

Jackson was an All-Star in 2009, threw a no-hitter on June 25, 2010, and was a member of the 2011 World Series champion Cardinals.

Jackson was born in Neu Ulm, Germany while his father, Edwin Jackson Sr., was serving in the United States Army there.

He is one of 27 major league players who were born in Germany.

He spent three of the first eight years of his life in Germany, had a few years in Louisiana, before spending the rest of his youth in Columbus, Georgia.

Jackson hit his first Major League home run off Jack Taschner and scored the first two runs of his career in the fourth inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 11, 2010.

On June 25, 2010, Jackson no-hit his former team, the Tampa Bay Rays, 1–0, at Tropicana Field, becoming the first pitcher to no-hit a former team since Philadelphia Phillie Terry Mulholland no-hit the San Francisco Giants in 1990.

On July 30, 2010, the Diamondbacks traded Jackson to the Chicago White Sox for Daniel Hudson and David Holmberg.

Jackson has played for more MLB teams than any other player, having played for his 14th club, the Blue Jays, in 2019, passing the record previously held by Octavio Dotel.