| Adam Jones | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jones with the Baltimore Orioles in 2009 | |||||||||||||||
| Center fielder | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1985-08-01)August 1, 1985 (age 40) San Diego, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||
| Professional debut | |||||||||||||||
| MLB: July 14, 2006, for the Seattle Mariners | |||||||||||||||
| NPB: June 19, 2020, for the Orix Buffaloes | |||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | |||||||||||||||
| MLB: September 28, 2019, for the Arizona Diamondbacks | |||||||||||||||
| NPB: September 19, 2021, for the Orix Buffaloes | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .277 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 282 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 945 | ||||||||||||||
| NPB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .250 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 16 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 66 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||
Adam LaMarque Jones (born August 1, 1985) is an American former professionalbaseballcenter fielder. He played parts of 14 seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theSeattle Mariners,Baltimore Orioles, andArizona Diamondbacks and two seasons inNippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for theOrix Buffaloes. Internationally, Jones played for theUnited States, helping the U.S. win the2017 World Baseball Classic.
The Mariners selected Jones in the first round of the2003 MLB draft. He came up in the Mariners' minor league system as ashortstop before transitioning to the outfield. He made his MLB debut with the Mariners in2006 and was traded to the Orioles before the2008 season. Jones is a five-timeMLB All-Star, a four-timeGold Glove Award winner, aSilver Slugger winner, and won theMarvin Miller Man of the Year Award in 2015. He played the most games in center field in Orioles franchise history and competed in three postseasons with the team.
Adam Jones was born inSan Diego, California on August 1, 1985. His mother solely raised him and his older brother until he was five.[1] Growing up inSan Diego, he was a fan of theSan Diego Padres andTony Gwynn.[2] Jones excelled at both football and basketball but did not pick up a baseball bat until he was 12. In 1997, his stepfather, Kenneth, took him to a Padres game, starting Jones' interest in the sport. He picked up the sport quickly and went on to star on his high school team. Jones graduated fromMorse High School in 2003 after leading his high school team as both a pitcher and a shortstop.[3] During his senior season he batted .406, hit four home runs and batted in 27 runs. On the mound, Jones had a 3–0 record with a 2.71 ERA.[4] Jones and futureBaltimore Orioles teammateQuintin Berry were high school teammates.[5] Jones committed to playcollege baseball atSan Diego State University, where Gwynn was coaching.[6]
Jones was selected by theSeattle Mariners with the 37th pick in the first round of the2003 MLB draft as ashortstop andpitcher.[7] Jones was a good pitching prospect, throwing faster than 90 miles per hour from the mound,[6] but he preferred playing every day. He started his professional career as a shortstop with theArizona League Mariners andEverett Aquasox in 2003. In 2005, the Mariners, withYuniesky Betancourt starting at shortstop in the majors, asked Jones to switch to center field. He agreed, first playing the position regularly with thePeoria Javelinas in theArizona Fall League.[8] As a prospect,Baseball America consistently rated Jones as one of the best athletes and having the best throwing arm in the Mariners' minor league system.[9]
The Mariners called up Jones from theTacoma Rainiers on July 14, 2006.[10] He replaced corner outfielderShin-Soo Choo, whose attempt to fill in for injured center fielderJeremy Reed was unsuccessful.[11] Jones made his MLB debut that night, going 0-for-3 with a walk in a 5–3 victory over theToronto Blue Jays.[12][13] After going hitless in his first 12 at bats, he got his first major league hit on July 18 when he singled offSidney Ponson in a loss to theNew York Yankees.[14] Jones hit his first home run in the majors offAdam Eaton in an 8–2 loss to theTexas Rangers on August 10.[15][16]
Jones began 2007 back in the minors. On August 3, he returned to MLB for the first time that season, starting in right field against theBoston Red Sox. He went 2-for-4 and scored two runs in the 7–4 victory.[17] In two partial seasons with the Mariners, Jones played in 73 games, batting .230 with 3 home runs, 12 RBIs, and 5 stolen bases. Jones was much more productive with theTriple-ATacoma Rainiers, leading or co-leading the team in home runs, RBI, and triples in both 2006 and 2007.[18][19]
On February 8, 2008, the Mariners traded Jones, relieverGeorge Sherrill and minor league pitchersKam Mickolio,Chris Tillman, and Tony Butler to theBaltimore Orioles for starting pitcherÉrik Bédard.[20]
On July 28, Jones became the second player ever to hit a triple and a grand slam in the same game as a visitor toYankee Stadium, followingPat Seerey in 1945. On September 21, Jones hit the final triple atYankee Stadium, subsequently scoring the first run of the game.[21]
Jones finished his first season with the Orioles batting .270 to go along with nine home runs, 57 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases in 132 games.[22] He was tied for 11th in the major leagues with seven triples.[23]
After a strong start to the season, Jones was selected to represent Baltimore in the2009 All-Star Game on July 5. In the game, he drove inCurtis Granderson on a sacrifice fly for the winning run in the American League's 4–3 victory.[24]
The second half was not as kind to Jones though, and on September 1, he sprained his left ankle while running the bases, missing the rest of the 2009 season.[25] He finished the season with a .277 batting average, 19 homers, 70 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 119 games.[22] He tied for fifth among major leaguecenter fielders with nineoutfield assists.[26] He won his firstGold Glove for his defensive play.[27]
Jones hit an inside-the-park home run on May 22, when center fielderNyjer Morgan, apparently not realizing the ball was still on the playing field, threw his glove down in disgust after not catching the ball.[28][29]
Jones finished his third season in Baltimore with a .284 batting average, 19 homers, 69 RBI and seven stolen bases in 149 games.[22] He led all center fielders and was second in the majors in outfield assists with 12.[30]
Jones had the best offensive season of his career so far.[31] On August 6, in a game against theToronto Blue Jays, he hit his then career high 20th home run of the season.[32] In 2011, Jones led the major leagues with 12 sacrifice flies, and led all AL outfielders with 8 errors.[33][34][22]
Jones started the 2012 season hitting .310 with 14 home runs and 31 RBIs through the Orioles' first 46 games. On May 26, he and Orioles agreed to a six-year contract extension worth at least $85.5 million. Escalators could raise that total to $91.5 million over the same period. The contract was the largest in Orioles history, surpassing previous contracts forMiguel Tejada andNick Markakis, and made Jones the second highest paid center fielder, behindMatt Kemp of theLos Angeles Dodgers.[35] 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 thePhiladelphia Phillies.[36] On July 1, Jones was selected to theAll-Star Game.[37]
Jones hit the 100th home run of his career on August 28 against theChicago 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. Jones played in all 162 games in 2012, batting .287 with 32 home runs and 82 RBI.[22] Jones was named the Most Valuable Oriole for the second consecutive season.[4] He won his second Gold Glove award and finished sixth inAL Most Valuable Player voting, the highest rank of his career.[22][38]
The Orioles made theplayoffs the wild card team. In theAL Wild Card Game, Jones hit a sacrifice fly to drive in a run in the Orioles' 5–1 win over the Rangers.[39] The Orioles would later lose in five games to theNew York Yankees in theAmerican League Division Series.[40] Jones slumped in the playoffs, hitting two singles in 26 at bats.[41]
Prior to the 2013 season, Jones played for theUnited States national team in the2013 World Baseball Classic. Jones was voted by fans to start in theAll-Star Game.[42][43] It was his third All-Star game.
Jones finished a strong 2013 season batting .285 with 33 home runs and 108 RBI, both of which were new career highs.[22] He did, however, draw only 25 walks and finished with a .318on-base percentage, his lowest since 2008.[22] On August 11, Jones said on Twitter that a fan threw a banana towards him during a game atAT&T Park in San Francisco.[44] Jones won his onlySilver Slugger award and his third Gold Glove award.[22]
After the Orioles failed to make the 2013 playoffs, Jones joinedMLB Network as an analyst for the postseason.[45]
On April 13, Jones recorded his 1,000th career hit off Toronto'sMark Buehrle.[46] In a game against theHouston Astros on May 11, Jones singled with the bases loaded and drove in his 500th and 501st RBIs.[47] Jones was again voted by fans to start in theAll-Star Game.[48] After the season, he won his third consecutive Gold Glove award.[22]
The Orioles won the American League East and swept theDetroit Tigers in theAmerican League Division Series in three games[49] before being swept in four games in theAmerican League Championship Series by theKansas City Royals.[50] Jones continued to struggle in the postseason, batting .222 with 1 home run and 3 RBIs in 7 games.[41]
After the season, Jones traveled to Japan to play in theMLB Japan All-Star Series, as a team of MLB stars played againstNippon Professional Baseball stars.[51]
Jones was selected to his fifth and finalAll-Star Game, his fourth in a row.[52][22] He was originally chosen as a reserve but started the exhibition due to an injury to Kansas City outfielderAlex Gordon.[53][54] During the Orioles' final game before the All-Star break, Jones hit two home runs against theWashington Nationals,[55] his seventh career multi-home run game. On July 30, Jones hit the 182nd home run of his Orioles career, which tied him for seventh on the team's all-time list withKen Singleton.[56] The very next night, Jones hit a three-run home run, giving him sole possession of seventh place on the all-time Orioles home run list. It was also his one hundredth career home run in Baltimore.[57] On August 16, Jones went 3-for-4 and hit two home runs in an 18–2 rout of theOakland Athletics.[58] It was Jones' eighth career multi-home run game.
Jones played in 137 games in 2015, his lowest total since 2009. He hit a career-low .269 with 27 home runs and 82 RBI.[22] The Orioles finished the season with a .500 record. Jones won theMarvin Miller Man of the Year award, chosen by other MLB players as someone "whose leadership most inspires others to higher levels of achievement."[59]
Jones started the 2016 season batting second in the starting lineup. He went 1-for-5 with an RBI in the season opener, in a 3–2 win over theMinnesota Twins.[60] On April 6, Jones injured himself during an at-bat late in the game.[61] 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.[62]
After going 1-for-5 in a victory over the Athletics on May 8, Jones' average dipped to .200.[62] 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 (two-run single & solo homerun). On May 13, Jones hit his 200th career home run in a game against Detroit.[63] On June 2, Jones hit two home runs as the Orioles hit a season-high seven home runs in a game.[64] His second home run, hit in the eighth inning, was his 200th home run with the Orioles.[64] In addition, his first homer in the game came from the leadoff spot, giving him a home run in each spot in the lineup. On July 8, Jones passedBrady Anderson for sole possession of sixth place on the Orioles all-time home run list with 210.[65][66][67]
Jones finished 2016slashing .265/.310/.436 with an OPS of .746.[22] He hit 29 home runs while driving in 83 runs.[22] He swung at almost 45 percent of pitches outside thestrike zone and 60.6 percent of all pitches he saw, both of which were the highest in the major leagues.[68][69] Jones batted 1-for-5 with a run scored in the OriolesWild Card Game loss.[70]
During the second game of the season, Jones hit his 223rd career home run as an Oriole, tying him for fifth all-time in franchise history withRafael Palmeiro.[71] Jones would pass Palmeiro five games later.[72] AtFenway Park on May 1, a Red Sox fan throw peanuts at Jones while he was running into the dugout at the end of an inning, and another fan(s) directed a barrage of racial slurs at Jones.[73][74] The next day, on May 2, Jones received a welcoming ovation at Fenway.[75] On May 3, Jones was ejected for the first time in his career by home plate umpireSam Holbrook for arguing balls and strikes.[76] On May 10, Jones recorded his 745th career RBI as an Oriole, surpassingBrady Anderson for sixth most all-time in franchise history. On May 21, Jones hit his 124th career home run atCamden Yards, tying him with Palmeiro for most home runs in ballpark history.[77] The following night, Jones passed Palmeiro with a three-run homer.[78] Jones was also first all-time in extra-base hits and RBIs at Camden Yards. On August 28, Jones hit the 250th home run of his career.[79] On September 1, Jones was ejected in the first inning of a game against the Blue Jays, after expressing his displeasure with a strike call. It was the second ejection of his career.[80]
On Opening Day against the Twins on March 29, Jones hit a walk-off home run as the Orioles won 3–2.[81] On April 5, Jones drove in two runs, moving him pastKen Williams for sixth-most RBIs in Orioles/Browns history. On April 26, Jones tiedBoog Powell for sixth-most extra-base hits in franchise history with 557.[82]
On August 10, Jones made his first start as a right fielder for the Orioles after playing 1,555 in center field, ceding center toCedric Mullins.[83] During the game, he collected a stolen base, the 86th of his Orioles career, moving him into 10th place all-time in Orioles history.[84] Jones started the most games in center field for the Orioles, and ranked second in games, putouts, assists, and Gold Gloves won, all behindPaul Blair.[85][86] Jones' 259 career home runs as a center fielder, 13th most in MLB history.[87]
Despite a drop in his power numbers, Jones put up a solid .281/.313/.419 slash line with 15 home runs, the first time he failed to reach 20 since 2010, as well as 63 RBI, 35 doubles, and seven steals in 145 games.[22] He became afree agent at the conclusion of the season.
Jones ranks in the top 10 in several statistics in Orioles history, including hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, runs scored, and strikeouts.[88] He played in five All-Star games and won four Gold Glove awards and one Silver Slugger award while in Baltimore.[22]
_(cropped).jpg)
On March 11, 2019, Jones signed a one-year, $3 million contract with theArizona Diamondbacks.[89] In his one season with Arizona, Jones batted .260/.313/.414 with 16 home runs and 67 RBI in 137 games.[22] Defensively, he committed six errors and had the lowestfielding percentage of all major league right fielders (.972),[90] thoughadvanced statistics rated him as below average, but not the worst in the league at the position.[91]
On December 10, 2019, Jones signed with theOrix Buffaloes ofNippon Professional Baseball on a two-year, $8 million contract.[92][93]
Jones made his NPB debut on June 19, 2020. In the 2020 season, Jones slashed .258/.331/.417 with 12 doubles, 12 home runs, and 43 RBIs in 87 games.[94]
On November 25, 2021, Jones became known as "Mr. Thanksgiving" for his game-winning home run in the top of the ninth inning in Game 5 of the2021 Japan Series on the AmericanThanksgiving holiday to help Orix stave off elimination.[95] He hit .234 with 4 home runs in 71 games in his final season of professional baseball in 2021.[94] Orix opted not to exercise a team option for 2022.[96]
On September 15, 2023, Jones signed a one-day contract with the Baltimore Orioles to officially retire as a member of the team.[97]
Jones played forTeam USA in the2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) and2017 WBC.[98]
Jones played in all six games for the U.S. in the 2013 WBC, batting .182 with one double and 4 RBI as the U.S. lost in the second round.[99][100]
In the 2017 WBC opening round, Jones hit a game-tying solo home run againstVenezuela in the eighth inning of aPool F game, sparking a rally that led to a 4–2 victory.[101] He then helped the U.S. advance to the second round by hitting a 10th-inning walk-off single to beatColombia.[102] Jones also In the second round, in a game againstthe Dominican Republic, Jones made a home-run-saving catch, robbingManny Machado,[101] that helped propel the U.S. to the semifinals. The team went on to win the 2017 championship againstPuerto Rico.[103][104] Jones later said, "To do it with those guys, it was probably the best experience of my life so far, especially with sports."[105] Along with his highlight defense, Jones slashed .200/.243/.429 with 2 doubles, 2 home runs, and 5 RBI.[101][106]
After retiring as a player, Jones was a hitting coach forSpain, including at the2025 European Baseball Championship.[104]
Following the end of his playing career, Jones worked forMajor League Baseball's operations department.[106] On January 27, 2025, theBaltimore Orioles hired Jones to serve as an advisor to the general manager and community ambassador.[107][108]
On May 29, 2010, Jones was mistakenly detained at the Canadian border while he was trying to get to Toronto. He believed it was a case of mistaken identity; however, he would not disclose whether he was mistaken forCincinnati Bengals cornerbackAdam "Pacman" Jones, who has had numerous brushes with the law.[109]
Jones married Maude "Audie" Fugett, the daughter ofJean Fugett, in late December 2014.[110] They had their first son in March 2014.[111][112] Jones was thebest man atQuintin Berry's wedding and also thegodfather to Berry's son.[5]
Jones is a season ticket holder for theSan Diego Gulls of theAmerican Hockey League and has served as anoff-ice official for the team, primarily in the penalty box.[113] Jones remains a Padres fan and followed the team and former teammateManny Machado during their2022 playoff run.[114]
Jones has four tattoos. One of his mother and another of his 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 would tap his left shoulder as a tribute.[115]
While playing in Japan, Jones started a podcast calledHeckle Deez with brother-in-law Reginald Fugett. He and Fugett brought on guests from the baseball community in both the U.S. and Japan, includingWladimir Balentien andC.C. Sabathia. The podcast released 36 episodes in 2020 and 2021 and was relaunched byThe Baltimore Banner in 2022 asThe Adam Jones Podcast.[116][117] Jones co-hosts the podcast with Baltimore radio personality Jerry Coleman, with Fugett appearing as a moderator of debates between the two.[118]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
