Jan Jablonka

Jan Jablonka (Jay Jay)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 198 lb.

• Born April 24, 1982 in Košice Czechoslovakia

Biographical Information

Infielder Jan Jablonka was one of the top Slovakian baseball players in the first decade of the 21st Century.

Jablonka proved good enough to perform well in the Czech Republic's Extraliga. In 2003, he hit .296/.430/.358 for Technika Brno with 22 runs in 21 games; he fielded .947. He tied for 7th in the league with 19 walks. During 2004, Jan batted .303/.358/.414 and fielded .905. In 2005, Jablonka produced at a .272/.410/.346 rate and fielded .932.

Jablonka finished among the 2006 leaders in walks (23, tied for 2nd with Martin Veselý and Michal Kočí) and runs (26, tied for 5th with future Reds farmhand Petr Čech). In 2007, the MZLU infielder was among the league's top 10 in hits (31, 8th), average (.369, 5th), walks (31, 1st), OBP (.538, 1st) and assists (88, tied for 1st).

Jablonka fell to .235/.350/.319 in 2008 after moving to Draci Brno, the powerhouse of Czech baseball. He did finish 4th in the league with 21 walks. Defensively, he fielded .947. The 26-year-old was second in the loop with 88 assists. He hit .348/.375/.391 in the 2008 European Cup in Regensburg, hitting second behind either Jan Toman or Martin Schneider. He fielded .917 in the event, with a crucial game-costing error in the 11th inning against France's Templiers de Sénart.

As Slovakia's #3 hitter in the 2008 European Championship Qualifiers, Jablonka hit .353/.353/.529 with 4 runs and 6 RBI in four games, but the Ukraine beat them out for a spot in the 2010 European Championship. Jan was second in the event in slugging, tied for the lead in RBI and tied Dmytro Nelipa for second with 9 total bases.

In 2009, Jablonka hit .333/.424/.417 with 28 runs in 31 games for Draci Brno. He tied former Twins farmhand Jakub Hajtmar for 7th in RBI (25). He fielded .948. He was 2 for 12 in the 2009 European Cup.