Longtime Baltimore heart fielder Adam Jones will return to the franchise Sept. 15 to retire as an Oriole, the group introduced Friday morning on social media.
Jones, 37, performed for the Orioles from 2008 to 2018 and ranks amongst Baltimore’s statistical leaders in a number of classes. He final appeared within the majors in 2019 with the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier than spending the following two seasons enjoying in Japan.
The Orioles haven’t supplied specifics on Jones’ return, merely posting a brief social media video by which a server brings out a pie, locations it subsequent to a Jones bobblehead and places down a word saying Jones’ Sept. 15 retirement. During a lot of Jones’ tenure in Baltimore, postgame celebrations for wins featured Jones smashing a pie into the face of that evening’s participant of the sport.
The Sept. 15 house sport towards the Tampa Bay Rays, broadcast nationally on Apple TV+, features a Jones T-shirt giveaway for the primary 15,000 followers.
Acquired as a part of the February 2008 commerce that despatched beginning pitcher Erik Bedard to the Seattle Mariners, Jones quickly grew to become a cornerstone of Baltimore’s most profitable stretch in a long time. He was a first-time All-Star in 2009 and likewise made the group every year from 2012 to 2015, profitable 4 Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger with three top-15 finishes in American League Most Valuable Player voting alongside the way in which. From 2012 to 2016, Jones appeared in all however 40 of the Orioles’ 810 video games throughout a stretch by which they had been the AL’s winningest group. That span featured the group’s solely three playoff appearances up to now 25 years, although the 2023 group is positioned to safe one other.
Amid the 2012 season, Jones signed a six-year, $85.5 million contract extension that on the time was the biggest deal in membership historical past. He ended his decade in Baltimore ranked fifth amongst Orioles with 263 house runs. Of these, 146 got here at Camden Yards, probably the most of any participant within the ballpark’s three a long time. Jones can be among the many prime 5 franchise leaders in hits, doubles, RBIs and complete bases. His 1,613 video games as an Oriole are the eighth most for the reason that membership moved to Baltimore in 1954 and the third most amongst main outfielders behind Brady Anderson’s 1,759 and Paul Blair’s 1,700.
With Jones a pending free agent in 2018 amid a disastrous Orioles season, the membership agreed to a commerce to ship him to the Philadelphia Phillies, however Jones exercised his 10-and-5 rights — granted to gamers with greater than 10 years of main league service time with a minimum of 5 of these coming for his or her present membership — to say no the swap and stick with Baltimore. Jones later mentioned he wished to stay an on a regular basis heart fielder with the Orioles quite than a part-time proper fielder in Philadelphia as he approached free company, however Baltimore quickly moved him into that undesired function regardless, giving younger outfielders extra enjoying time because the group’s rebuild started. He signed with Arizona that offseason earlier than ending his profession with two years in Japan.
The upcoming retirement is one other signal of a repaired relationship between Jones and the Orioles. Despite his place in franchise historical past, Jones was not among the many attendees to the Orioles’ festivities final yr to have fun the 30-year anniversary of Camden Yards, telling 105.7 The Fan he hadn’t even been invited. In previous years, Orioles broadcasters and staff had been discouraged from mentioning Jones on air or on social media.
Jones returned to Camden Yards final month to function a “guest splasher” of the Orioles’ Bird Bath part within the left subject stands. Wearing a No. 10 City Connect jersey with “CAPT SPLASH” throughout the again, Jones doused followers within the splash zone with water.
On Sept. 15, followers across the stadium determine to return the favor with applause.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com