John Bowker (baseball)

John Brite Bowker (born July 8, 1983) is an American former professional baseball player. An outfielder and first baseman, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia Phillies and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Bowker stands 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighs 205 pounds (93 kg); he bats and throws left-handed.

Bowker was drafted out of Long Beach State University in the third round of the 2004 MLB draft by the San Francisco Giants. He spent the next few years in their minor league system and ranked among the Eastern League leaders in several hitting categories in 2007. He was called up by the Giants shortly after the 2008 season began, and he became the first San Francisco-era Giant to hit a home run in his first two major league games. He was the Giants' starting first baseman for much of the season and finished the year batting .255 with 10 home runs in 111 games.

In 2009, Bowker won the Pacific Coast League batting title with a .342 average. However, he batted .194 in 31 major league games. He began 2010 as the Giants' right fielder, but lost the job soon after the season started. He was optioned to Fresno in June and was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline. Bowker was called up by the Pirates in September and finished the 2010 season batting .219 with 5 home runs in 67 games. He started the 2011 season as a reserve outfielder on the Pirates' team but was designated for assignment and sent to the minors after April. He batted .306 with 15 home runs and 76 RBI in 106 games with their International League team before getting traded to the Philadelphia Phillies at the end of August, where he was used mainly as a pinch hitter.

Three seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball followed: two with the Yomiuri Giants, where he won a Japan Series championship in 2012 and was named an Outstanding Player for his contribution, and one with the Rakuten Golden Eagles. He returned to America for a year, spending more time in the minor league systems of both the San Francisco Giants and the Pirates, before he concluded his playing career with a three year spell in independent minor league baseball in Japan.