Jason Cook (South Africa)

From BR Bullpen

Jason Lee Cook

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 0", Weight 187 lb.

Olympics-Reference page

Biographical Information[edit]

Jason Cook spent several years with the South African national team including in the Olympics and World Baseball Classic.

Cook was 5 for 20 with a homer as South Africa's center fielder in the 1995 Intercontinental Cup. In the 1998 Baseball World Cup, he went 5 for 25 with 10 strikeouts and no walks, tripling twice. He again played error-free ball in center, with 33 putouts and one assist. He was 11 for 16 with two homers and 15 RBI in four games in the 1999 All Africa Games as South Africa cruised to the Gold; he had 7 RBI against Ghana (including a grand slam off Mohammed Sherrif) and 6 versus Uganda. The gaudy numbers were in line with the rest of his team as he was only 4th on the squad in average, 6th in slugging and tied Carl Randall for 3rd in RBI.

Cook went 2 for 23 with no walks and 7 Ks in the 2000 Olympics, doubling and homering (both against host Australia) as South Africa's main center fielder once more. In the 2001 Baseball World Cup, he hit .222/.250/.296 while moving to left field (Marvin Jonathan took over in center). He again went walk-less, getting his other time on base via a hit-by-pitch.

He went 2 for 19 with a homer in the 2002 Haarlem Baseball Week but managed to tie Pedro José Rodríguez, Jr. for the event home run lead. In the 2006 World Baseball Classic, he went 2 for 9 with a triple, two runs and two RBI. He had now gone six events without drawing a walk in over 100 plate appearances.