The Adam Jones Appreciation Thread

[Aristotelian]

Most of all, Jones brought winning baseball back to Baltimore. Mainstay in one of the premium positions with plus range and one of the top arms in the game. Just a tremendous athlete and competitor and a joy to watch in his prime. He probably could have made more money and had an easier path to winning somewhere else, but took a chance on Baltimore. Too bad he was not able to achieve the ultimate prize in Baltimore but that we got as close as we did is a massive credit to Mr. Jones. What a shame his last season with the O's had to be a losing effort. He deserved better.

[NashLumber]

There are so many highlights, but he had a really nice finish to that 17 inning game at Boston in May 2012 (the Chris Davis relief win).He fielded a ball in the gap in the 16th, hit the cutoff man Hardy and Wieters survived a collision at the plate with Byrd to hang onto the ball. It was Adam's 3-run HR in the 17th to put the O's ahead to stay. The win completed a sweep of Boston. Very satisfying.

Good luck, Adam. Thanks for the memories and wishing you nothing but the best. 

[foxfield]

Adam Jones was literally the cornerstone to the winning teams built by AM and DD.  Manny Machado will always be the most talented player from the era, but when people talk about the days of Buck and the end of the dark ages, it will be Adam Jones who will stand above all.

While he was never perfect, he was everything the Orioles needed.  On the field or off of it, he became the model for the new Oriole Way.  Play hard?  Check. Team Leader?  Check.  Role Model? Check. Enjoys the game?  Check!

My favorite All Time Oriole players are from an era that produced World Series wins.  However, I found this group of winners to be very close to the older heroes.  I think the most painful part of the last run was how far the Orioles had come and yet, how far they still needed to go.  It was time for Adam Jones to move on.  I wish him well and I thank him for all he did to make baseball meaningful in Baltimore again.  And while his era will not be remembered by WS wins, I believe Adam Jones wore the Orioles uniform as well anyone.  

It was a pleasure to cheer for you sir.  And I wish you nothing but success, wherever you go, whatever you do.

[DJHJR86]

I really hope he rebounds from the last 3 years and gets all revitalizes his career.  He's a good guy and definitely one of the greatest Orioles of all time.  

[Tony-OH]

22 hours ago, SurhoffRules said:

That's an interesting question, what defines an all-time team-great? Just using WAR, Jones is at 14, behind such non-HOFs as Bobby Grich, Brady, Boog, Paul Blair, and Mark Belanger. Offensive WAR he sits at 10th.

In the more traditional counting stats, he's 9th in games play, 7th in Runs Score, somewhere between 5th and 8th in HRs, TB, 2Bs, & RBIs.

Do those numbers put him in the all-time greats deserving more than a plaque (or whatever they do) for the Orioles HoF? 

It's easy to be sentimental about a fan favorite, but thanks for putting it into perspective when people start calling for statues and such!

[webbrick2010]

Fortunately or unfortunately I think he will be compared to his peers and teammates of his era. In that light I think he will get in the O's HOF even though he was not as good a player as say Bobby Grich or even Boog.

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, webbrick2010 said:

Fortunately or unfortunately I think he will be compared to his peers and teammates of his era. In that light I think he will get in the O's HOF even though he was not as good a player as say Bobby Grich or even Boog.

The bar for the Orioles HoF is set a lot lower than Grich and Boog.

[ShaneDawg85]

Pardon my ignorance if I missed something earlier hence the Orioles HOF discussion, but 11 seasons with the team, top 10 in most of the major offensive categories in team history, specifically the counting stats for the old school types, #18 in career WAR in the entire franchise history for the more modern stat heads, #12 if you're only factoring in the Orioles.  It's not even, and shouldn't be a debate that Adam Jones deserves to be in the Orioles HOF.

[Frobby]

6 minutes ago, ShaneDawg85 said:

Pardon my ignorance if I missed something earlier hence the Orioles HOF discussion, but 11 seasons with the team, top 10 in most of the major offensive categories in team history, specifically the counting stats for the old school types, #18 in career WAR in the entire franchise history for the more modern stat heads, #12 if you're only factoring in the Orioles.  It's not even, and shouldn't be a debate that Adam Jones deserves to be in the Orioles HOF.

I don’t think it is.    Somehow this morphed from a discussion of whether he deserves a statue (pretty debatable IMO) to whether he deserves to be in the Orioles Hall of Fame (which he obviously does when you look at who’s in there).    Either way, it’s an appreciation thread so let’s keep it focused there instead of debating those topics here.   

[MikeAD]

Im not a big advocate for statues in general, anywhere, but I do think its important to remember that Jones is at or near the top in most stats for OPACY.  While he might fall out of the small group of all time greatest Orioles, hes definitely up there with Cal in terms of Camden Yards history and importance.  

[HowAboutThat]

One of the guys you feel sure you’d like as a neighbor. See him at church, in the store, talk to him at PTA meetings.

God bless you, Adam. You’re a Mensch.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

11 hours ago, foxfield said:

Adam Jones was literally the cornerstone to the winning teams built by AM and DD.  Manny Machado will always be the most talented player from the era, but when people talk about the days of Buck and the end of the dark ages, it will be Adam Jones who will stand above all.

While he was never perfect, he was everything the Orioles needed.  On the field or off of it, he became the model for the new Oriole Way.  Play hard?  Check. Team Leader?  Check.  Role Model? Check. Enjoys the game?  Check!

My favorite All Time Oriole players are from an era that produced World Series wins.  However, I found this group of winners to be very close to the older heroes.  I think the most painful part of the last run was how far the Orioles had come and yet, how far they still needed to go.  It was time for Adam Jones to move on.  I wish him well and I thank him for all he did to make baseball meaningful in Baltimore again.  And while his era will not be remembered by WS wins, I believe Adam Jones wore the Orioles uniform as well anyone.  

It was a pleasure to cheer for you sir.  And I wish you nothing but success, wherever you go, whatever you do.

I always think of Machado as a mercenary or gun for hire. The Orioles just got to use him first.

[foxfield]

2 hours ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

I always think of Machado as a mercenary or gun for hire. The Orioles just got to use him first.

I did not.  I may well from now on, but I did not.

[scOtt]

On 3/11/2019 at 12:41 PM, byrdz said:

One of the images that will stick with me for a long time is when Jones ran around the field pieing and hugging fans after winning the AL East division championship.

 

Just because I can. here's a bigger pic.

 

 

THIS is part of why Adam was so great. Adam was ALL-IN an Oriole. Bought into on day one. Best of luck in Arizona. Nothin' but love!

 

[scOtt]

I just speed-browsed this thread, to see if anyone posted that vid. Can't read the whole thread in depth tho... my computer like keeps spitting dust or something into my eyes. Very painful, makes me look like I'm crying.