Jeff Urban

Jeffrey Thomas Urban

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 8", Weight 215 lb.
• School Ball State University
• High School Alexandria-Monroe High School
• Born January 25, 1977 in Anderson, IN USA

Biographical Information

Pitcher Jeff Urban was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 1998 amateur draft. He was a first-round "sandwich" pick. However, his progress was delayed when he suffered a shoulder injury while playing basketball in the winter of 1999. He missed the entire 2000 season as a result.

In 2003, Urban had two brief stints on the Giants' active roster: from April 26–30 and from August 1–2. The first opportunity arose when Jason Schmidt was on bereavement leave following the death of his mother. The Giants called up Luis Estrella, then Jerome Williams, and finally Urban -- USA Today viewed these maneuvers as stretching the bereavement clause. Urban did not pitch a single inning in the four games that the Giants played in this stretch. Schmidt then returned and Urban was optioned back to Triple-A Fresno.

Urban's second chance came after Kirk Rueter was scratched from a start with a sore shoulder. He did not get into either of the first two ballgames of a series in Cincinnati, and San Francisco called up Dustin Hermanson to start the finale.

Urban remained at the Triple-A level for the Giants through the 2004 season and played independent-league ball in 2006 and 2007.