Jason and the city of New York seem to be made for one another. One of the sport's most engaging personalities, he signed with the Yankees at the conclusion of 2001 after spending seven seasons with the Oakland Athletics. Jason will wear number 25 in the Bronx (the "2" and the "5" add up to "7," the number of his dad's favorite player, Mickey Mantle) and take aim at the short porch in right field.

A tremendous leader on and off the field, Jason led the American League in doubles (47), walks (129), slugging percentage (.660) and on-base percentage (.477) in 2001. His career-high .342 batting average was second only to Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki (.350) and he knocked in over 100 runs for the fourth consecutive season. Jason was elected to start in the All-Star Game for the second year in a row and helped Oakland reach the postseason yet again.

Jason won the American League MVP award in 2000 after a stellar season with the Athletics. He led the Major Leagues in walks (137) and on-base percentage (.474) and tied for the lead with four grand slams. Jason also ranked among the AL Leaders in home runs (T-second with 43), slugging percentage (third at .647), RBI (T-fourth with 137), batting average (T-seventh at .333), and runs scored (T-10th with 108).

Not afraid to show his emotions, Jason got choked up while accepting the MVP award. A self-described wrestling fan, he's one of the great interviews in baseball. Jason is sound defensively and is a steadying influence around younger players. He and his younger brother, Jeremy, were teammates in Oakland.

--BigLeaguers.com