Outfielder, Seattle
Mariners
1st season
with Mariners
Bats – Left,
Throws – Left
Height: 5’10” Weight: 170
Prior to 1977:
Born in Dallas,
Texas, Jones moved with his family to Berkeley, California just as he was
entering his teens. In his senior year at Berkeley High School the fleet-footed
outfielder batted .457 with 7 home runs and received All-Alameda County,
All-East Bay, and All-Northern California recognition. He also performed well
in football and basketball. Jones was chosen as East Bay Athlete of the Year
for 1972-73. While he received football scholarship offers, he chose to pursue
baseball instead. He signed with the Kansas City Royals in 1973, after they
selected him in the third round of that year’s amateur draft. First assigned to
the Billings Mustangs of the Rookie-level Pioneer League, Jones hit .301 in 61
games with 18 extra-base hits, 31 RBIs, a .404 on-base percentage, and 13
stolen bases. He was selected to the league All-Star team. Playing for two
teams at the Class A level in 1974, Jones batted a combined .321 with 21 home
runs, 88 RBIs, 24 stolen bases, a .404 OBP, and a .527 slugging percentage. Advancing
to Omaha of the Class AAA American Association in 1975, he hit .243 with 25
doubles, 13 home runs, 54 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, and a .338 OBP. Still with
Omaha in 1976, he hit .262 with 19 home runs, 73 RBIs, 16 stolen bases, and a
.366 OBP. Called up to the Royals in August, he had difficulty while appearing
in 28 games and batting ,216 with 7 RBIs. The Royals made a tough decision to
leave Jones unprotected in the AL expansion draft and the Mariners chose him
with their first pick.
1977 Season Summary
Appeared in 160
games
CF – 155, DH –
4, PH – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 664 [16, tied with Graig Nettles]
At Bats – 597
[14]
Runs – 85
Hits – 157
Doubles – 26
Triples – 8 [12,
tied with four others]
Home Runs – 24
RBI – 76
Bases on Balls
– 55
Int. BB – 3
Strikeouts – 120
[5, tied with Jim Rice]
Stolen Bases – 13
Caught Stealing
– 9
Average - .263
OBP - .324
Slugging Pct. -
.454
Total Bases – 271
GDP – 7
Hit by Pitches
– 2
Sac Hits – 3
Sac Flies – 6
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 15, 3B – 4, HR - 17, RBI - 50, AVG. - .256, SLG – .466, OBP –
.314
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Most hits, game
– 4 (in 4 AB) vs. Boston 5/14, (in 4 AB) at Boston 8/13
Longest hitting
streak – 10 games
HR at home – 17
HR on road – 7
Most home runs,
game – 2 (in 3 AB) at Milwaukee 6/25
Multi-HR games
– 1
Most RBIs, game
– 3 vs. California 4/9, vs. Cleveland 6/5, at Milwaukee 6/25
Pinch-hitting – 0 for 1 (.000)
Fielding
Chances - 485
Put Outs – 465
Assists – 11
Errors – 9
DP – 3
Pct. - .981
Awards & Honors:
All-Star
---
In their inaugural season, the Mariners went 64-98 to finish sixth in the AL Western Division, 38 games behind the division-winning Kansas City Royals while leading the league in fewest walks drawn (426). The Mariners were more successful on the road (35-46) than at home (29-52) and, hindered early by injuries to pitchers, avoided finishing in the AL West cellar by winning two of their last three games. They drew 1,338,511 fans to the Kingdome. Jones quickly became a fan favorite, as much for his excellence in center field as for his hitting and was regularly greeted with chants of “Rupe, Rupe, Rupe” when he came to bat.
Aftermath of 1977:
Having undergone knee surgery in the offseason, Jones was subpar at the plate in 1978, not helped by a June appendectomy that cost him a month of action and a 15-pound loss in weight. He remained outstanding defensively in center field and in a 16-inning game against Detroit he accounted for a record-tying 12 putouts in center field. He finished at .235 with 6 home runs, 46 RBIs, 22 stolen bases, and a .312 OBP. “Rupe” made a strong comeback in 1979, appearing in every game and batting .267 with 29 doubles, 9 triples, 21 home runs, 78 RBIs, 33 stolen bases, a .356 OBP, and a .444 slugging percentage. In the offseason he was traded along with RHP Jim Lewis to the New York Yankees for four players. Brought in to replace the departed Mickey Rivers in center field, Jones got off to a slow start prior to having emergency stomach surgery in May. He appeared in only 83 games and was hitting .223 with 9 home runs, 42 RBIs, 18 stolen bases, and a .299 OBP when his season ended on August 25 due to a shoulder separation and concussion suffered when he ran into the wall while attempting to catch a fly ball in Oakland. During spring training in 1981 Jones was dealt once again, this time to the San Diego Padres. Once again getting off to a slow start at the plate in the strike-interrupted season, he ended up batting .249 with 34 doubles, 4 home runs, 39 RBIs, and a .318 OBP. In the outfield, he finished second among AL center fielders with 9 assists. Working hard on his batting technique in the offseason, Jones had an All-Star season in 1982 fueled by a strong start in which he was hitting .312 with 11 home runs and 50 RBIs at the All-Star break. Two weeks later an ankle injury sidelined him for nearly a month and he finished at .283 with 12 home runs, 61 RBIs, a .373 OBP, and a .425 slugging percentage. A disappointing season in 1983 ended with Jones batting .233 with 12 home runs, 49 RBIs, and a .305 OBP. A free agent in the offseason, he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates but was cut prior to the 1984 season. Signed by the Detroit Tigers, he started the season with the Evansville Triplets of the Class AAA American Association. Called up by the Tigers in early June, Jones ended up appearing in 79 games as a role player for the division-winning club and hit .284 with 12 home runs, 37 RBIs, a .346 OBP, and a .516 slugging percentage. Appearing in the postseason for the first time, he appeared in four games as Detroit went on to win the World Series. Once again a free agent in the offseason, he next signed with the California Angels in 1985. He was a streaky contributor at the plate for a club that was a surprise contender in the AL West, batting .231 with 21 home runs, 67 RBIs, and a .328 OBP. The Angels topped the division in 1986 and Jones, still a capable defensive outfielder, saw most of his action in right field while he hit .229 with 17 home runs, 49 RBIs, and a .339 OBP helped by drawing 64 walks. Appearing in only 85 games in 1987 and unable to perform as well off the bench as he did the previous year, he raised his average to .245 while his home run total dropped to 8 and his RBIs to 28. Released after the season Jones signed with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1988 but failed to make the club once a shoulder injury rendered him unable to play in the outfield. The Texas Rangers signed him and he played for their Class AAA farm team, the Oklahoma City 89ers of the American Association where he appeared in 50 games and hit .253 with 7 home runs, 30 RBIs, and a .332 OBP. He left at midseason to play for the Hanshin Tigers of the Japan Central League where his production was similar to his Oklahoma City performance. A last stint with Oklahoma City in 1989 lasted 27 games before he retired at age 34. For his major league career Jones batted .250 with 1103 hits that included 215 doubles, 38 triples, and 147 home runs. He scored 643 runs and compiled 579 RBIs, 143 stolen bases, a .330 OBP, and a .416 slugging percentage. With the Mariners he batted .257 with 434 hits, 242 runs scored, 79 doubles, 20 triples, 51 home runs, 200 RBIs, 68 stolen bases, a .333 OBP, and a .418 slugging percentage. Appearing in 10 postseason games, he hit .120 with a double, no homers, and 2 RBIs. A two-time All-Star, he was a talented player when healthy, which was not often enough.
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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum
of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who
led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a
minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between
the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc.
players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the
postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.
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