Suspended a year ago, Jacobs is back in majors with D-backs
Champagne was not the only wet stuff Mike Jacobs rubbed from his eyes Tuesday.
Jacobs was overcome with emotion when he was told in a meeting with Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers, Class AAA Reno manager Brett Butler and D-backs director of player development Mike Bell after Reno's 10-3 victory over Pawtucket in the Triple-A championship game that he was being promoted to the major leagues.
"There were a lot of tears in that room. It was special," said Jacobs, who popped out as a pinch-hitter in the D-backs' 6-2 victory over San Diego on Wednesday.
"It's pretty amazing when you see a guy with five or six years (and has) hit 30 home runs in the big leagues be as emotional as he was," said D-backs general manager Kevin Towers.
Jacobs, 31, was purchased to provide a veteran left-handed power bat for the final two weeks of the season Wednesday, 2 1/2 years since his last appearance in the major leagues and 13 months after he was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for HGH last August while playing for Class AAA Colorado Springs in Colorado's minor league system.
"You always hope there is a chance, but until you get that call into that office, you just go about your business the best you can. I think you always question it," said Jacobs, who signed with the D-backs in the offseason and completed his suspension in the extended spring training program.
Jacobs hit .279 with 18 home runs and 60 RBI for Reno, joining the team after finishing his suspension in May, and he also provided leadership to the young Reno players on their way to Pacific Coast League and Triple-A championships.
He has 100 homers in six major league seasons, including 32 for the Florida Marlins in 2008, but his career took a detour after he tested positive for the human growth hormone (HGH). He was the first North American athlete in any sport to test positive for HGH, which he said he used in an attempt to treat knee and back injuries. He called "a terrible decision" at the time, and he apologized in a statement two days after the positive test was announced, never denying it.
"If you look at the history of people who have had things go wrong, when they run from it, it blows up in their face. I think when you can own up to your mistakes and try to move on from them, that's the only thing you can do. That's what I did. I'm here now," Jacobs said.
