O’s fans knew they were in for a treat in 2009 when Adam Jones went 3 for 3 with 2 RBI and a triple in Baltimore’s 10-5 win over the Yankees on Opening Day.
Jones continued his season with noticeable growth at the plate and a highlight reel of catches out in center field. He became the Orioles lone All Star and delivered the game winning sacrifice fly in the Midsummer Classic.
Jones’ average was over .300 through July 25th, but he finished the season at .277. He began to transition into a power hitter with 10 more homeruns in 2009 than he had in 2008 and 13 more RBI in 13 less games.
The All Star was also more outspoken in his second year wearing the orange and black. In a locker room begging for a leader, Jones may be the guy to step up in 2010 and beyond.
He’s become the face of the Orioles rebuild and the expectations are higher and higher every season. Many are wondering if Jones can become more of the power hitter that Baltimore needs or if he’ll be a 20 homerun guy for the rest of his career.
The hope is that this young outfield will grow together both on offense and defense. Jones’ fielding percentage was .986 and he had 5 errors in 2009.
If I had to make a ridiculously early guess, I would say that Jones repeats as the Orioles All Star and that he slightly increases his overall average in 2010 with maybe one or two homers. His personality will draw even more attention to him in 2010. I think we’ve seen his true potential, now it’s about becoming more consistent.
Jones will make the Orioles forget all about guys like Cal Ripken. Jones has talent and leadership qualities that Rip only dreamed about. What's that you say? Rip had wonderful stats…PLEASE. Rip was always good at hitting 3 run taters when the O's were up or down by 5 runs. Jones will become Mr. Clutch…love the guy. He's a 5 tool guy and will become Mr. Oriole in short order.
Thumbs Up Will-o.
I agree with you about Jones talent, I just hope to see him get that voice in the clubhouse. The Orioles need it and they need him to become Mr. Clutch. I think we started to see what he's capable of with his 2009 performance. Let's see what kind of power he has in 2010. Hopefully he'll be the face of the O's winning ways in the new decade.
Will stop drinking the Ripken Hater-ade. Cal was a clutch performer at bat and in the field and we did not have to worry whether or not he would make it through the season healthy. Is he over-hyped as an offensive player because of his other accomplishments, maybe a little, but no one is going to make O's fans forget about Cal Ripken.
I like AJ's game and think he can be a very good player, even all-star caliber consistently, but he has to prove he is not Eric Davis part II. More talented players than Jones have had their career's diminished by injuries. Jones also needs to be less homer happy. He started out the year well, being selective at the plate and hitting the ball where it was pitched. His natural power showed when he took that approach. Then he tried to hit everything out of the park. Maybe the all-star hype got to him, maybe he was just trying to do too much, or maybe AL pitchers figured out a better game plan to attack him. Either way he needs a full season of consistent production befor he is mentioned in the same paragraph as Cal.
Will-o,
I'm with you, my brother. I think Jones has the potential to be a cornerstone for the Orioles, hopefully building on last year's success. As you mentioned, I can also eventually see him as a leader on this club. He's already alluded to the fact that he would relish that role and that's something this club has been missing for a lot of years. Like you, I didn't see Cal as a "put this team on my back" style leader. Cal just wanted to go out and play ball, he wasn't interested in being a leader. I think Jones can be that guy, provided he builds off of last year's success. If he does, we're talking Markakis, Jones, and hopefully a couple of these young pitchers we ca build around much like the successful teams have done this past couple of decades. This year is about finding out who the cornerstones are, and hopefully Adam is one of them.
The Orioles are counting on Jones to be a cornerstone of the franchise, and that said, he needs to keep improving, be more consistent and try to stay healthy. I have often said I am in the tank for Jones, and I am hoping his continued improvement justifies my and other O's fans faith in him.
It's easy to get excited about a guy like AJ. He flashes the leather and was jacking the ball out of the park last year. I think he'll go as far as his confidence takes him, which is pretty far according to everything I've heard.
He's starving to win and I think he'll be one of the reasons the Orioles have success.
I kind of think the shallow play thing was over blown. Jones fielded the position fine last year, he's got speed so I never saw the big deal.
That being said, I hope he improves in the field too.
Yeah I see him playing shallow and heard people talk about it on TV and the radio. A guy I went to a game with even said something to Jones when he was signing autographs before the game…hah.
I just thought that he played pretty well so didn't mind the fact that he started in.
I have a co-worker that talks about how shallow Jones plays and the last time this guy was on a field was 1974 when mullets first came out. I like him playing shallow because that takes away the soft liner into the outfield and in most cases he has the speed to get back and cover the length of the outfield. Remember, AJ was a Gold Glove winner last season and he has more to come. I don't think he needs a bunch of weekend warriors giving him advice on the finer aspects of center field.
Why even bring up Cal?
And Jones has a long way to go either way. 2 MVPs and a ring. I don't give a crap what kind of leadership skills he had, he's got the hardware. Jones has all the talent and potential but that's it so far.
I agree that he needs to concentrate on being a line drive hitter instead of a power guy.
He also MUST stop playing so shallow in center. He's not Andruw Jones yet.
There is no denying that he's as talented a player as we have on this team. He needs to stay healthy and take a giant step forward this year.
Hell, they all do.
Mark, I was just throwing Cal into the conversation because I see AJ as an Impact guy not only on the field but in the club house. Cal let his play do the talking but today's O's need a chemistry in the clunhouse and I think Jones might be the leader both on and off that the O's have needed for years.
I hear ya. I hope so as well.
I think it's borderline embarrassing that some of the "vets" on this team have yet to take on a real role in the clubhouse.
It shows on the field, especially when they start a losing streak. Seems like there's zero accountability.
Trembles needs to chew some butt this year, as well. His preaching about being "fundamentally sound" last spring was a real knee slapper as the season played out. His on borrowed time and better at least go down swinging.
Zach
I'm pretty sure you watch as much Oriole baseball as I do.
I can't believe you didn't notice the problem of Jones and his shallow play in center.
Far too many times he couldn't run down a ball because he was playing too shallow. Palmer commented on it numerous times and I'm sure it has been addressed as it was a pretty big deal.
The Gold Glove.
That's the standard? An award voted on by people who watch sportscenter and spectacular grabs and think that means a guy is the best at their position> That award?
I particularly liked Palmeiro winning it in 1999 when he played exactly 28 games at first while DHing for 135 games.
The fact that Jeter has ever won it shows how inept the voters are.
Watch the games. See the plays. These guys aren't perfect. Especially this team.