For 11 years, Adam Jones manned the outfield at Camden Yards with poise and charm.
Times have changed since he last played for the Orioles in 2018. His final year in Baltimore was the start of a rebuild that resulted in three 100-loss seasons. But now they are finally seeing the payoff. The team is on the edge of making the playoffs for the first time since 2016, when Jones was their starting center fielder. Jones travels
On Friday, the Orioles will honor Jones with a retirement ceremony before they take on the Rays in a crucial matchup. First pitch is 7:05 p.m., and the game will be televised by Apple TV+.
“I remember, before the game started, he put his hands on my shoulders and told me to relax and go out there and do what I’ve always done, which is just play the game of baseball. I was able to do that, and it still stays with me strong today.”
Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins
Only three current position players — Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays and Anthony Santander — were teammates with Jones. They remember Jones for his on-field performances that led to him being a five-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner. But what still stands out to them, five years after they last took the field with him, was how Jones carried himself.
Former New York Yankees star pitcher CC Sabathia said he enjoyed competing against Jones “every time we stepped between the lines” but his contributions to the city of Baltimore cannot be overlooked.
Ahead of Friday’s ceremony, Mullins, Hays, Santander and Sabathia spoke to The Baltimore Banner about their favorite Jones moments and the lessons they still carry with them.
Cedric Mullins: “I thought it was a prank”
Mullins remembers all of the emotions of his major league debut. And all of the confusion. What time were the hitters hitting? Where are the batting cages?
And the one he still thinks about the most was his new teammate pulling a fast one on him and trying to make him look like a fool?
In the dugout, just before Mullins ran out for his debut against the Red Sox on Aug. 10, 2018, Jones pulled him aside and told him to go out first.
“I thought the whole time it was a prank,” Mullins said. “I finally just fell for it. I took the field, and, like I expected, they left me out there by myself. I just felt out of place in the moment.”
But Jones had no intentions of freaking out Mullins. Jones had started a tradition of allowing a new player to run out first so he could have a minute alone in front of the crowd to reflect on the milestone. A player only debuts once, and Jones wanted his teammates to take it all in.
“I remember, before the game started, he put his hands on my shoulders and told me to relax and go out there and do what I’ve always done, which is just play the game of baseball,” Mullins said. “I was able to do that, and it still stays with me strong today.”
Mullins and Jones played together for only two months, but, even in that short time, Mullins learned lessons from Jones that he’s passed to the current clubhouse. Most of all, the importance of keeping a good attitude, regardless of the circumstances around you.
“I still think he had a really positive influence on us,” Mullins said.
Austin Hays: “I thought he was the guy.”
Austin Hays made his debut less than a year after being drafted. He was 22 and barely knew anyone in the Orioles’ clubhouse. When he made his first error only a few days after getting called up, he was panicked.
But Jones, as he always did, knew what to do.
He walked up to Hays and held out his glove.
“You see this?” Jones asked Hays, pointing to the top of it.
Hays had no idea what Jones was trying to say. He shook his head, unsure how to respond.
“Gold Gloves, man, you can’t make Gold Gloves making errors,” Jones told Hays.
Then Jones broke into a smile and patted him on the back. Finally, Hays could relax.
“He lightened the mood,” Hays recalled.
Hays quickly became infatuated with Jones. He wanted to do everything just like Jones did, from his warmup routine to how he treated his younger teammates. Now, Hays tries to be that person for next generation of Orioles.
“That was the guy I was looking at,” Hays said. “I thought he was the guy.”
Anthony Santander: “He always has a smile on his face”
Anthony Santander followed his instincts but wasn’t able to make the play.
When he returned to the dugout, a coach came over to tell him he had made the wrong choice and should have done it as they had practiced. Jones, standing nearby, didn’t agree.
He stood up for his teammate, defending the decision that Santander made.
“That kind of stuff, I saw him do that with all of his teammates,” Santander said. “It was cool, especially as a rookie. When a coach comes to you, you have to say OK. Having someone say you were right was amazing.”
Santander and this current team share a lot of the same qualities as Jones. They play hard, but they also know when it’s appropriate to let loose a little bit. Jones started the tradition of pieing teammates as a form of celebration. The 2023 club has found its own ways to let loose, from the Bird Bath to the water they squirt out after an extra-base hit.
“His personality is great,” Santander said. “He always has a smile on his face, making a joke. It was really fun.”
CC Sabathia: ‘The future will be better because of him’
When Jones asked Sabathia to appear on The Adam Jones Podcast this year, the former All-Star pitcher didn’t hesitate. Their longtime friendship was on display as they recounted their playing days on the episode. Through the years, Sabathia saw how Jones connected with the community in Baltimore.
Jones made his central focus the Boys & Girls Clubs, an organization he often credits with being pivotal to his development growing up in San Diego. He made contributions and held numerous fundraisers to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Baltimore and other local organizations. That work led to the building of youth baseball parks, the renovation of community centers and the donation of baseball equipment.
“His dominance on the field is only matched by his generosity with his time and resources to young players across the country, from San Diego to Baltimore,” Sabathia said. “The game will miss him, but the future will be better because of him.”
Jones joined Sabathia as a member of The Players Alliance, an organization formed in 2020 that includes more than 150 former and current Black professional players dedicated to addressing “baseball’s systemic barriers to equity and inclusion by creating pathways to opportunities on and off the field for an undeniable pipeline of Black talent.”
Jones remains tied to Major League Baseball as part of a presence of former players with duties in the commissioner’s office. This year, Jones accepted a role in MLB’s baseball operations department.
Sabathia, who is vice chair of The Players Alliance board of directors, said he is thrilled that Jones is being honored and, as a result, “the organization will be making a serious investment in urban baseball in the city of Baltimore in hopes of developing the next Adam Jones.”
