Garrett Jones
| Garrett Jones | |
|---|---|
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| Pittsburgh Pirates – No. 46 | |
| Outfielder / First baseman | |
| Born: June 21, 1981 | |
| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| MLB debut | |
| May 15, 2007 for the Minnesota Twins | |
| Career statistics (through 2011 season) |
|
| Batting average | .254 |
| Home runs | 60 |
| Runs batted in | 193 |
| Runs | 167 |
| Stolen bases | 24 |
| Teams | |
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Garrett Thomas Jones (born June 21, 1981 in Harvey, Illinois) is a Major League Baseball outfielder/first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In 1999, Jones graduated from Victor J. Andrew High School in Tinley Park, Illinois.
Jones' nicknames include "G.I. Jones", a play on G.I. Joe, "GFJ" for "Garrett (Freakin') Jones", "Legend", and "God" .[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Professional career
[edit] Minor Leagues
He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 14th round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft, but was released after three seasons in the Braves' minor league system. He signed with the Minnesota Twins on May 24, 2002.[1]
From 2005-2008, he played for the Rochester Red Wings, the Twins' AAA affiliate. Jones made his major league debut against Cleveland on May 15, 2007, recording his first hit, a single off Paul Byrd in the seventh inning.[2]
[edit] Majors
After appearing in only 15 games with the Minnesota Twins, Jones became a free agent at the end of the 2008 season and signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He earned an invitation to Spring Training with the Pirates, but, despite an impressive performance, did not make the Pirates roster.[citation needed]
On June 30, his contract was bought by the Pirates, and he was called up to take the roster spot that was vacated when Eric Hinske was traded to the New York Yankees.[3] After being called up to the Pirates MLB roster, Jones hit ten home runs in his first month with the club and was named the National League's Rookie of the Month for July 2009.[4]
On April 5, 2010, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Garrett Jones hit two home runs in his first two at bats, becoming the 6th Pirate to hit two home runs on Opening Day. While the first was long into right field, landing in the Allegheny River, the second cleared the left field wall.
He finished 2010 with 145 hits, scored 64 runs, hit 34 doubles, hit 1 triple, hit 21 home runs, batted in 86 runs, walked 53 times, struck out 123 times, stole 7 bases, had a .247 average, a .306 OBP, and a .414 slugging percentage in 592 at bats.
On August 16, 2011 Jones crushed a pitch from Arthur Rhodes into the river to give the Pirates a walk-off 5-4 victory.
[edit] References
- ^ "2007 Minnesota Twins Media Guide" (PDF). MLB Advanced Media, L.P.. pp. p. 81. http://pressbox.mlb.com/pressbox/downloads/y2007/min/players_h_l.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
- ^ Thesier, Kelly (May 15, 2007). "Notes: Jones' long wait finally ends". MLB.com. http://www.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070515&content_id=1966177&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Kovacevic, Dejan (2009-08-04). "Pirates' Jones named NL rookie of the month". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09216/988552-100.stm. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- 1981 births
- Living people
- People from Harvey, Illinois
- Minnesota Twins players
- Major League Baseball designated hitters
- Major League Baseball first basemen
- Major League Baseball outfielders
- Baseball players from Illinois
- Gulf Coast Braves players
- Danville Braves players
- Fort Myers Miracle players
- New Britain Rock Cats players
- Quad Cities River Bandits players
- Rochester Red Wings players
- Indianapolis Indians players
- Pittsburgh Pirates players
