A native of Astoria, Queens, Jata is of Polish heritage. He began playing baseball as a left-handed batter. His older brothers persuaded him to become a right-handed batter, and he was a .400 hitter at William Cullen Bryant High School in Astoria, New York. In 1967, Jata was drafted by the Tigers in the 5th round of the 1967 amateur draft. He signed with the Tigers for $10,000.\n', '

Jata married Mary Olson of Rockwood, Michigan on June 12, 1971. After the wedding, Jata had a 14-game hitting streak for the Toledo Mud Hens. He had a .367 batting average in the 23 games following the ceremony. The Sporting News published a three-column feature story on Jata\'s post-wedding hitting streak titled "Wedded Bliss Helps Hens\' Jata to Big Rookie Season".\n', '

Jata spent several years in the Tigers\' minor league system with the Lakeland Tigers (1967–1968), Rocky Mount Leafs (1969), Montgomery Rebels (1970), and Toledo Mud Hens (1971).\n', '

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