Greg Jelks | |||
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Third baseman | |||
Born: Centre, Alabama |
August 16, 1961|||
Died: January 6, 2017 Sydney, Australia |
(aged 55)|||
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MLB debut | |||
August 20, 1987, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
October 3, 1987, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .091 | ||
On-base percentage | .286 | ||
Hits | 1 | ||
Teams | |||
Gregory Dion Jelks (August 16, 1961 – January 6, 2017) was an American Australian baseballer who played with the Philadelphia Phillies. He spent the majority of his career in the minor leagues, and was most notable playing with the Australia national baseball team and the Perth Heat in the Australian Baseball League.
Born in Centre, Alabama, Jelks was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Phillies organisation in 1981. The following summer Jelks made his debut with the Bend Phillies of the Northwest League. The following year, Jelks hit 24 home runs and 75 RBI for the Spartanburg Spinners in A class ball of the South Atlantic League. In 1987, Jelks appeared in 123 AAA games for the Maine Guides and that summer, Jelks was promoted to Philadelphia for 10 games, where out of eleven at bats he collected one hit, a double off Montreal Expos pitcher Neal Heaton. Jelks became a free agent again in 1989 and was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals and played for the Louisville Redbirds. Over the course of eight minor league seasons, Jelks totaled 771 games, 96 home runs, 361 RBI, and a career batting average of .245.
During the 1990s, he played professionally in Italy and Australia. In 1993, he started his ABL career with the Perth Heat and Jelks enjoyed Australia, and decided to live in Perth, where he earned dual citizenship. Apart from a short stint with the Melbourne Reds in 1996, Jelks continued to play for the Heat throughout the ABL, as well as with West Australia for the International Baseball League of Australia.