His first name, Jair, has two syllables. It is pronounced JIE (like "eye" with a "j" in front of it), then AIR . . . JIE-AIR. 

Jurrjens is pronounced JUR-jens.

His mother named him after the Biblical judge Jair by his mother Esther She and Jurrjens' father, Carl, have two other children, Carl, Sr. and Charlotte.

In 2002, Jurrjens' Curaçao Senior League team won the Senior League World Series in Bangor, Maine.[4]

Jurrjens speaks English, Spanish, Dutch and Papiamentu.

Jair's father, Carl, is a longtime Braves fan, dating back to the days of Hank Aaron when he was a Milwaukee Brave.

"Back in the days when he listened to baseball on the radio, he would listen to the Braves," Jair said of his dad. So the deal with the Tigers that brought Jurrjens to Atlanta was a dream come true for both of them.

When Jurrjens was six years old, he was a batboy on the youth league team that Andruw Jones, and Jair's brother, Carl, played on.

Jair says that former big league infielder Ralph Milliard (Marlins and the Mets for just a few games in the 1990s) was "a cousin of my cousin."

Jurrjens still lives in the same house he grew up in, only a few miles from downtown Willemstad, the capital city of Curacao. It is an ordinary neighborhood with brightly painted houses close together, fenced yards, tiny streets and a slower pace of life than is found in the U.S.

Before the 2005 season, the Baseball America Prospect Handbook ranked Jair as #22 in the Detroit farm system.

Before 2006 spring training, Baseball America rated Jair as 16th-best prospect in the Tiger organization.

In the winter of 2007, they moved Jurrjens all the way up to #4. In the spring of 2008, he was #3 in the Braves organization.

In 2005, he was 6th in the Midwest League in ERA.

Jurrjens is the first player from Curacao to ever pitch in the big leagues.

Jair grew up in a middle-class home and was never more than 20 minutes from the beach, though he says he never spent a lot of time there. He said soccer is the most popular sport in Curacao, though the rise of Jones in the big leagues has helped make baseball a close second.

Jurrjens speaks, in order of best to worst, Papiamento—a Creole language of Curacao and a few other Caribbean islands—English, Spanish, and Dutch. His Spanish is good enough that he has served as a translator for some of his Latin teammates during his minor league career. (David Driver-freelance writer from Cheverly, Maryland-August 15, 2007)

Jair always seems to be smiling; he is very personable. He is mature for his age. He has never been bashful in the clubhouse, but always shows respect to the older players.

He is even-keeled, an impressive trait for a pitcher.

He has a necklace made of seashells from the beaches of the island nation where he grew up.

"It's a gift from my sister Charlotte, as a good luck charm," Jurrjens said.  He said he wears the necklace, or others from his collection, in all of his starts.

On April 20, 2008, Jurrjens was asked before the game about how he felt facing his fellow countryman Andruw Jones.

Jurrjens said, "It's going to be fun to face him", then said "It's going to be even more fun to strike him out."

Jurrjens then went on to strike Jones out all three times he faced him.

Jurrjens says that, after the baseball season is over, "When you're home, you want to see your boys. You want to go to the clubs. We have fun, but we're safe, too. Sometimes we just go to a club and sit around, make jokes and talk."

When asked if he dances, Jair said: "I definitely dance, and I am a good dancer. We do the salsa-type dancing."

Jair's cousin, Juni Juliet, is a professional entertainer, a keyboardist and singer, who has worked in Europe and throughout the Caribbean.

June, 2017: Jurrjens was suspended 80 games without pay after testing positive for exogenous testosterone. Jurrjens, who pitched this year at the Dodgers’ Triple-A Oklahoma City affiliate, will miss the rest of the season.

Jurrjens committed to play for the Netherlands in the 2023 WBC.


TRANSACTIONS

Jurrjens has a 90-95 mph 4-seam FASTBALL with good movement, a 90-95 mph 2-seam sinker, and a CHANGEUP that he has good command of and is a weapon for lefthanded batters. His 77-78 mph slurvy-CURVEBALL has good downer movement.

His sinker and slider are his best weapons.

Jair has a good feel for the pitching craft. He is able to keep his fastball low in the strike zone with great command, placing it on both sides of the plate. And he can add or subtract velocity to fool a hitter's timing.

He is aggressive in the strike zone.

Jair has a smooth, clean, simple delivery. He starts out with a real slow delivery, then kind of speeds it up, making him tough to hit.

Jurrjens has to keep reminding himself not to throw across his body when he delivers a pitch. His command disappears when he does that.

April 29–June 2010: Jair went on the D.L. with a strained left hamstring.

Then on May 10, Jurrjens was running and believed he was recovered from his injury and nearly ready to make a start on May 15. However, he fell to the ground in the Milwaukee outfield and had to be helped to the clubhouse. An MRI showed swelling in the lower part of the muscle.

October 18, 2010: Jair underwent arthroscopic surgery in Birmingham, Alabama to repair a lateral meniscus tear. Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery. Actually, Jurrjens underwent two surgeries in one, repairing the meniscus tear in his right knee and also something called the plica, which is a little bit of tissue that gets in the joint sometimes when you have a knee injury. It was digging into the bone and causing it to be inflamed.

Jurrjens had tweaked the knee while working in the Citi Field bullpen on September 17.

August 3-18, 2011: Jair was on the D.L. with a strained right knee—the same knee he had surgery on in October 2010 to repair a torn meniscus.

August 30, 2011: Jurrjens went back on the D.L. because of fatigue and discomfort caused by a bone bruise in his right knee. Later, in September, he wore a knee brace for several days.

August 1, 2012: Jurrjens was on the D.L. with a strained right groin. He slipped on the mound while pitching and it was tight the next day.

Jurrjens was pulled The team clarified that his departure at that point was not due to any troubles breathing. But once Chad Bettis took over and Jurrjens settled into the dugout, he apparently felt short of breath.

The Rockies suggested it wasn't serious. Considering Jurrjens was acquired just two days before, from the Reds, it's possible his unfamiliarity with Denver's altitude affected his condition. (Cody Ulm MLB.com, 7/5/2014)

May 25-June 9, 2015: Jair was on the D.L. with a right groin strain.