BALTIMORE ORIOLE ADAM JONES--FACE OF THE FRANCHISE
Adam LaMarque Jones (born August 1, 1985) is an American professional baseball center fielder with the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB).
The Seattle Mariners selected Jones in the first round of the 2003 MLB draft. He came up in the Mariners' minor league system as a shortstop before transitioning to the outfield and being traded to the Orioles before the 2008 season. Jones is a five-time MLB All-Star, a four-time Gold Glove Award winner, and a Silver Slugger Award winner.
On February 8, 2008, Jones was traded to the Baltimore Orioles along with left-handed reliever George Sherrill and minor league pitchers Kam Mickolio, Chris Tillman, and Tony Butler for the left-handed starting pitcher Érik Bédard.
2008
On July 28, 2008, Jones became the second player ever to hit a triple and a grand slam in the same game as a visitor to Yankee Stadium (the first was Pat Seerey in 1945). On September 21, 2008, Jones hit the final triple at Yankee Stadium in the second inning off Andy Pettitte and later scored the first run of the game.
Jones finished his first season with the Orioles batting .270 to go along with 9 home runs, 57 RBI and 10 stolen bases. He ranked 11th in the major leagues with 7 triples.
2009
After a strong start to the season, Jones was selected to represent Baltimore in the 2009 All Star Game on July 5. In the game, he drove in Curtis Granderson on a sacrifice fly for the winning run in the American League's 4–3 victory.
The second half wasn't as kind to Jones though and in August, he sprained his left ankle and missed the end of the 2009 season. He finished the season with a .277 batting average, 19 homers, 70 RBI and 10 stolen bases. He tied for 5th among major league center fielders with 9 outfield assists.
In November, he was awarded a Gold Glove for his defensive play.
2010
Jones finished his third season in Baltimore with a .284 batting average, 19 homers, 69 RBI and 7 stolen bases. He led all center fielders and was second in the majors in outfield assists with 12.
2011
As of August, Jones was having the best statistical season of his career. On August 6, in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, he hit his then career high 20th home run of the season.
In 2011, Jones led the major leagues in sacrifice flies, with 12, and led all AL outfielders in errors, with 8.
ADAM JONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Jones is one of the most popular professional athletes on social media; especially Twitter. If you check out twitter.com/SimplyAJ10 , you will find the Orioles star centerfielder weighing in on a wide variety of issues and not afraid to take on controversial subjects. As someone who has invested much time, effort and financial support to inner-city Baltimore, Jones used social media and his influence in the community to call for an end to the violent protests that erupted after the death of Freddy Gray in 2015 while in police custody. He called for more peaceful protesting rather than allowing the violence to destroy their neighborhoods. He supported 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s right to kneel in protest during the playing of the national anthem while also stating that wasn’t something he would personally due out of respect to our country and our flag. He also made the point that since major league baseball had a much lower percentage of African-American players than pro football, there would be fewer protests in baseball; something he referred to as a “white man’s sport.” Jones also took to social media during the 2016 season when teammate Hyun Soo Kim had a full beer can tossed at him while trying to make a catch in left field during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Much of his Twitter feed, however, is more lighthearted. Through his tweets, Orioles fans are aware of his love of Popeye’s chicken, waffles and Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. Either way, Baltimore’s favorite superstar embraces social media like a 90-MPH fastball down the middle of the plate.
2012
Jones started the 2012 season hitting .310 with 14 home runs and 31 runs batted in through the Orioles' first 46 games. His stellar play led to the Orioles signing him to a contract extension for six years that is worth $85.5 million. Escalators could raise that total to $91.5 million over the same period. The contract surpassed the previous contracts of Miguel Tejada and Nick Markakis as the largest in Orioles' history and makes Jones the second highest paid center fielder in Major League Baseball, behind the Dodgers' Matt Kemp. Jones hit the second walk-off home run of his career on June 9, a two-run home run in the bottom of the 12th inning that resulted in a 6-4 victory for the Orioles over the Philadelphia Phillies.
On July 1, Jones was selected to be one of the Orioles representatives in the 2012 All Star Game.
Jones hit the 100th home run of his career on August 28 against the Chicago White Sox. Two days later, he established a new career high by hitting his 26th home run of the season, also against the White Sox. He finished the regular season with 32 home runs.
On September 30, 2012, Jones was named the Most Valuable Oriole for the second consecutive season. The Orioles made the playoffs as a Wildcard against Texas Rangers. Jones hit a sac fly to score a run in the Orioles 5-1 win.
2013
Prior to the start of the 2013 season, Jones was selected by the United States national baseball team to participate in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He appeared in his second All-Star game, his first as a starter.
On August 11, 2013, Adam Jones reached a career-high 85 RBIs.
On September 5, 2013, Jones reached 100 RBIs for the first time, when he connected for a home run off of José Quintana.
Jones finished a strong 2013 season batting .285 with 33 home runs and 108 RBIs, both of which were new career highs. He did, however, draw only 25 walks and finished with a .318 on-base percentage, his lowest since 2008.
After the Baltimore Orioles failed to make the 2013 playoffs, Jones decided to join MLB Network as an extra analyst for the duration of the postseason.
2014
On April 13, Jones recorded his 1,000 career hit off Mark Buehrle in a game versus the Toronto Blue Jays. In a game against the Houston Astros at Camden Yards on May 11, 2014, he singled with the bases loaded and drove in his 500th and 501st RBIs. Jones participated in the 2014 MLB All-Star Game.[18] After the season ended, he travelled to Japan to join a team of MLB All-Stars playing against All-Stars of Nippon Professional Baseball in the 2014 Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series.
2015
In 2015, Jones was elected to his fifth All-Star Game, his fourth in a row. He was originally voted in as a reserve, however, an injury to Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Gordon allowed Jones to replace Gordon as a starting outfielder. During the Orioles final game before the All-Star break, Jones hit two homeruns in a game against the Washington Nationals, raising his career total with the Orioles to 180. His second homerun moved him into eighth on the Orioles all-time homeruns list,[23] and it was his seventh career multi-homerun game. On July 30, Jones hit the 182nd homerun of his Orioles career, which tied him for seventh on the teams all-time list with Ken Singleton. The very next night, Jones hit a three-run homerun, giving him sole possession of seventh place on the all-time Orioles homerun list. It was also his one hundredth career homerun at OPACY. On August 16, Jones went 3-for-4 and hit two homeruns in an 18-2 rout of the Oakland Athletics. It was Jones' eighth career multi-homerun game.
Jones played in 137 games in 2015, his lowest total since 2009. He hit a career-low .269, with 27 homeruns, and 82 RBIs. The Orioles finished the season with a record of 81-81.
2016
Jones started the 2016 season, hitting from the two spot in the lineup. He went 1-for-5 with an RBI in the season opener, in a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. On April 6, Jones injured himself during an at-bat late in the game. He sat out for the next four days, before returning on April 11 as a defensive replacement. He wouldn't start again until April 14. Jones hit .224 in April after collecting 15 hits in 67 at-bats. He only hit one home run while driving in seven runs.
After going 1-for-5 in a victory over the Athletics on May 8, Jones' average dipped to .200. He later tweeted "Gonna figure it allllll out. Part of the grind. #StayHungry" that day. Over the next week, Jones collected 13 hits, four home runs, nine RBIs, hit .520, and had two game-winning hits (2-run single & solo homerun). On May 13, Jones hit his 200th career home run in a game against the Detroit Tigers. On June 2, the Orioles hit a season-high seven home runs in a game against the Red Sox, two of which belonged to Jones. The second one (in the eighth inning) was his 200th career home run in an Orioles uniform. In addition, his first homer came from the leadoff spot, giving him a home run in each spot in the lineup. On July 8, Jones passed Brady Anderson for sole possession of 6th place on the Orioles all-time home run list with 210. On September 4, Jones collected his 1,497th hit as an Oriole, moving him into 9th on the all-time Orioles hit list.
Jones is known for his flamboyant personality on the field and in the clubhouse. Jones typically pies teammates during post-game interviews after they drive in the winning run or make the most contributions to the team's victory at home. Jones has two tattoos of his mother and grandmother, who he calls "the two most important women in my life", on his left shoulder. Whenever crossing the plate after hitting a home run, he taps his left shoulder as a tribute. He is very active on social media; especially Twitter twitter.com/SimplyAJ10 (wikipedia)
All-Star Adam Jones A Rarity In Today's Game
By MILTON KENT • JUL 14, 2014 WYPR.org
When baseball officials were looking for someone to take part in this year’s Home Run Derby portion of the All-Star Game celebration, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones wasted no time volunteering.
Keep in mind that Jones is not really a home run hitter. In the seven years that he has been a regular, Jones’ season’s high is the 33 he hit last year. That’s a respectable total, but nowhere near the 52 Chris Davis hit last year and a few ahead of what Nelson Cruz has produced so far this year.
But in a sport that can be overly ponderous and full of pomposity, Jones is about fun. He’s the one Oriole likely to hit a teammate with a shaving cream pie during the teammate’s post-game interview. And he said he’ll bring his professional wrestling title belt to the Derby, probably to lighten the mood.
For Birds fans with long memories, it’s not hard to look at Adam Jones now and see echoes of a great former Oriole, Frank Robinson. Like Robinson, Jones has become a Baltimore mainstay after a trade from his original organization. Both grew up playing basketball in California, Robinson in San Francisco and Jones in San Diego. And while Jones has not displayed Robinson’s Hall of Fame talent, he has taken on the mantle of clubhouse leadership, just as Robinson did.
For instance, Jones told an ESPN reporter recently that he would kick Manny Machado’s butt to ensure the young third baseman would develop. No doubt, Jones was one of the first players to counsel Machado after his recent bat swinging incident that drew a five-game suspension.
Jones would likely see parallels between himself and the late Tony Gwynn, an eight-time National League batting champion and Hall of Famer with the San Diego Padres. He was also the coach at San Diego State University. Gwynn died last month at 54 from complications of salivary gland cancer.
He and Jones shared a hometown and a passion for baseball. Jones said he spent a lot of his offseasons talking with Gwynn and working out with his players. Jones spoke fondly to MASN’s Roch Kubatko about Gwynn’s work with Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities, Major League Baseball’s initiative to increase minority participation in the game.
To that point, Jones is a rarity in baseball culture: namely, an African-American star. In his day, Frank Robinson was surrounded by a galaxy of black baseball stars, including Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Joe Morgan, Willie Stargell and Willie McCovey. By Gwynn’s day, that number had pretty much dwindled down to himself, Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey.
Perhaps Jones and Pittsburgh center fielder Andrew McCutchen can help bring young African-Americans back to the game that helped their ancestors assimilate into the broader culture.
Jones told ESPN that he liked the swag the Orioles carry and that there’s more to come. Spoken by nearly anyone else, those words would come across as bragging.
But from Adam Jones, it all sounds like fun.
Orioles' Adam Jones: 'It was the right time' for me to speak up
By Eduardo A. Encina, Baltimore Sun 9/12/16
Orioles outfielder Adam Jones said he would never consider not standing for the national anthem before a game. His father spent 22 years in the Navy and his brother was also in the military, so he will always show respect to the flag and the anthem.
But as one of the most well-known African-American players in Major League Baseball, he understands why San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has chosen not to stand for the anthem.
And Jones has chosen to stand beside Kaepernick in his own way. On Monday, Jones told a national publication that baseball players have not taken a social stance because of the racial demographics of the league, which lean white — at least for Americans.
Kaepernick gained national attention after the 49ers' third preseason game on Aug. 26 when he sat for the anthem. He was asked about it after the game and spoke about racial injustice in the country and said he was supporting those who were oppressed. He has since kneeled during the anthem in an attempt not to show disrespect to the country's military personnel. Other National Football League players have followed him, including at several season-opening games Sunday. Athletes in other sports have joined in, but none from baseball.
Before the Orioles played the Boston Red Sox on Monday night, the 31-year-old Jones stood for the anthem — a pregame routine that is a part of every baseball game at every level — head held high and his cap over his heart. He clapped for the color guard stationed in center field after the anthem.
“I stand for that for multiple reasons. … I stand for more than one reason than just that,” Jones said. “The American flag and national anthem and all that, when you dig deeper, that part of it is not why I [decide to] stand. But also I stand for something different than the anthem.
“We are Americans. Our First Amendment right. When we speak out, we get backlash. I thought we had the First Amendment. So I am using my First Amendment [right] and I'm using it in a respectful manner. I just hope people educate themselves on the process. This is a long process.”
Jones didn't hold back in a USA Today article Monday in which he said that baseball hasn't seen players protesting the anthem because baseball “is a white man's sport” that consists of just 8 percent African-American players.
“Of course, and as I said, the headline grabbed strong attention,” Jones said. “People just are thinking, ‘Let's just see the article [and] what Adam's going to talk about.' They're going to say, ‘Oh, Adam [is a] black man talking about white people. Let's see where this is going.'
“It already altered people's minds. There's nothing about me racist. I just stated the simple fact. Baseball is numbers. It's 8 percent black. I didn't make that up. In football, basketball, the numbers are in the 60s and 70s. These aren't made-up numbers. It just is what it is. I'm part of the 8 percent.”
Jones has been very active in the Baltimore community, spending almost his entire eight-year Orioles career donating time and money to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore and working with MLB's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program.
Last week, he was named the Orioles' representative for the annual Roberto Clemente Award, given to the MLB player who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team.” Last year, he was named Marvin Miller Man of the Year, an award given by the players' union to “one player for his combination of on-field performance and community dedication.”
Jones' on-field accolades — five-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner and long the face of the Orioles' franchise — have allowed him a forum, and he said he's chosen to use it.
“At the end of the day, I'm one of the most well-known black players in baseball,” Jones said. “There's what, 58, 59 of us, and I'm one of the most known. For me, it was the right time and I know all those guys have spoken up about it at some point in time.
“My biggest thing about it is that society doesn't mind us helping out the hood and the inner cities, but they have a problem when we speak about the hood and the inner cities. I don't understand that part.”
Jones' comments to USA Today came on the first NFL Sunday of the season, and he said he didn't plan on that, but on the spur of the moment, felt it was the right time to share his opinion.
“Is everybody going to agree with what I said?” Jones said. “No. Because why? Because I'm sticking up for people who don't have the voice. Fortunately, I have the voice, I have the reach. I think it was the time for it to be said. It was the perfect time. ... I don't take anything back. I think I said it very eloquently, and I don't think I showed any disrespect to anybody or any person.”
Orioles manager Buck Showalter supported Jones Monday, saying that he has earned the right to express his opinions. Showalter has long pointed to Jones as one of the team's leaders, and his words during last year's riots were seen as helping Baltimore start to heal during a difficult time.
“I think everybody here would feel that way as far as respecting his right,” Showalter said.
“It's the same right people have to criticize things. They might criticize his stand. They might criticize my decisions every night. We fought so hard for these rights to be able to do that in our country.”
Still, Jones has seen that his comments weren't welcomed by some on social media. Some have said that multimillion-dollar athletes shouldn't weigh in on social or racial issues.
“That just comes with it,” Jones said. “I've given my last 13 years of this game to baseball, every ounce of blood, sweat and tears and I have more. … I think they forgot the first 18 years of my life was not spent making a lot of money.
“More than half of my life was living — I don't want to say in poverty — but living in the inner city. They don't look at that. They just look at now you're making all this money.”
Jones said he's received a lot of positive feedback around the game for his comments but expects continued backlash.
“You guys have been around me and seen me evolve as a man, husband, player, father — you know I'm not just speaking out of the side of my neck just because I have a forum,” Jones said. “I'm doing it because I understand. … There's going to be backlash, of course there is. Because people don't like the truth, [and] I just gave the truth.”
FAN-FRIENDLY AND CONSISTENT, ADAM JONES APPROACHING LEGEND STATUS IN BALTIMORE
By Rich Dubroff, CSN Mid-Atlantic, October 12, 2016
Orioles fans are on a first name basis with the franchise’s all-time greats.
There’s Brooks, Frank, Eddie, Boog, Brady, Cal—and soon they’ll be joined by Adam.
Adam Jones, already one of the best players in Orioles franchise history, will soon leave an unforgettable mark on the team.
It’s not just his outsized personality or his record of community involvement. It's his ability to connect with fans.
Check out the concourse before an Orioles game and you'll see dozens of African American fans--and not a few white fans--wearing his jersey.
Even though Jones doesn’t live in Baltimore fulltime, he’s one of the few Orioles to own property here, and he gets Baltimore.
One of the best investments the Orioles made in recent years was their six-year extension to Jones. With two years remaining on it, Jones has been remarkably consistent.
He’s hit 25 or more home runs and driven in 80 runs for six straight seasons.
While his batting average dipped to .265 and he had a rough last month of the season, batting just .223 from Sept. 2 on, Jones hit much better after he was moved to the leadoff spot in late May.
Jones was hitting just .223 on May 27, and hit .282 as a leadoff batter.
Manager Buck Showalter wants to move Jones out of the leadoff spot, thinking Jones will be more productive lower in the lineup.
The 2017 lineup isn’t likely to feature Mark Trumbo, so there’ll be a place for Jones. Of course, the Orioles will have to find a suitable leadoff hitter to replace him.
In the season just past, Jones continued to climb up the Orioles all-time lists.
He’s currently ninth in hits with 1,448, but with 167 hits next year, he would end 2017 trailing only Cal Ripken, Brooks Robinson and Eddie Murray on the all-time list.
Jones currently trails Brian Roberts by four hits and Ken Singleton by seven. With a hundred more hits, he’ll pass Nick Markakis, and he’s 126 away from Boog Powell. Brady Anderson is fourth with 1,614 hits.
Jones is already sixth on the team’s homer list with 222. With his next home run, he’ll tie Rafael Palmeiro for fifth place, and with two seasons left on his contract, he’ll take aim at Brooks Robinson’s 268 homers.
His contractual situation may be a tricky one. While he’s had an outstanding four years, the Orioles need to address Chris Tillman, Manny Machado and perhaps Zach Britton and Jonathan Schoop before they get around to a player who’ll be 33 two years from now.
Jones could make it easy (or harder) on them if he has two more years approaching his last four.
He was the first of this group to sign an extension, in May 2012, and since them he’s watched J.J. Hardy, Darren O’Day and Chris Davis follow suit.
His place in team history is assured even though without a World Series title, they may not erect a seventh statue to honor him.
Jones’ time in Baltimore has been honorable. Not only the community involvement and the stellar play, but in recent years he’s become the team spokesman.
In the latter part of 2015 and through much of 2016, Jones has been the go-to guy—not when the team wins—but when it loses—and others hide.
His best interviews have come after bad streaks, bad losses or controversial incidents.
Jones was won over by Hyun Soo Kim, and when a beer can was tossed at Kim during the wild-card game in Toronto, there was Jones looking for the miscreant and addressing it afterward.
In his time in Baltimore he’s seen treasured teammates leave. He hurt when Nick Markakis, who he admired for his lack of pretension, left two years ago.
He stood up for Davis and met with Peter Angelos to make a case for increased payroll and refused to knock Orioles fans for small crowds at crucial games.
This offseason, Jones could see Matt Wieters, who’s second to him in tenure, go as well.
He knows not to get too attached to teammates. When Steve Clevenger made disparaging comments on Twitter, Jones said that most of his teammates were acquaintances and not friends.
But, he is attached to speaking out on social issues. Last month after he spoke about race and baseball to a national publication, Jones followed that up with a 12 ½ minute interview about the subject, both reiterating and expanding on his comments, which were perfectly reasonable.
It’s perfectly reasonable to expect at least two more good seasons—and maybe more—from Jones, excuse me, from Adam.
Cal, Brooks, Frank, Boog, Adam. Sounds about right.
