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Jones growing up, calming down
Orioles' always-brash center fielder is figuring things out
By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com | 04/05/11 11:59 AM ET
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BALTIMORE -- [Adam Jones]e|/mlb/players/7812 is angry. Really angry. The Orioles' center fielder has swung at the ever-enticing offspeed pitch again, and grounded out to third base for the fourth time in his last seven at-bats. Today he can't take it any more. No matter that it's a Spring Training game and he's already played six innings. Jones is alone now, in the batting cages at the Ed Smith Stadium complex, hitting off the curveball machine.

He will get it right. It is an adjustment, he rationalizes, one he knows he can make. But not before he takes out his frustration, whipping the bat clear across the cage and shattering it into several pieces. It's a solitary -- but not entirely unfamiliar -- scene: Jones' antics have both irritated and energized the Orioles organization and its fan base since he arrived in 2008.

"He is who he is," Andy MacPhail, president of baseball operations, said of Jones, one of five players acquired from the Mariners in exchange for pitcher Erik Bedard. "He will figure this stuff out. He's not dumb."



Jones sees possibilities in 2011
00:02:20
Adam Jones discusses getting ready for the Orioles' 2011 campaign, when he hopes to build on the success of his 2010 season
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Jones' running catch

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Jones is one of Baltimore's most unique sports personalities, a charismatic straight shooter brimming with the talent and ability that has already garnered him an All-Star selection and Gold Glove. His brashness has made local and national headlines, and his outspokenness as a young player in the clubhouse has rubbed teammates the wrong way in seasons past.

But those closest to Jones say there is something different about the 25-year-old this spring, a sense of growth that has accompanied his always-forthcoming persona.

"He's come a long ways," said outfielder Nick Markakis, who met Jones as a teenager playing in the Arizona Fall League. "From where he was then to now, it's two completely different players. It seems like he gets it. He's starting to understand the game."

Angels outfielder Torii Hunter noticed Jones' growth this offseason, when the pair were together for a 14-hour Nike Swingman commercial shoot. The two are friends and see each other a few times every winter, but this was a "totally different" Jones in Atlanta that day.

"He seemed like he was a little more mature than in the past," Hunter said. "He spoke differently. I can't really put a face on it, exactly. He was talking about what he wanted to do to help the team this year, he had a plan. He was excited. And when you start thinking about what the team is going to do -- not just you -- that's maturity."

Jones' childhood friend, Quintin Berry, a fifth-round pick of the Phillies in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, said the change is most evident during the winter. Gone are the days when Jones would play the occasional catch to stay in shape. This offseason, his regimen included hitting with Berry and driving to Irvine, Calif., to get in some extra work. Jones also worked with personal trainers and consulted with runners. Gone was the Morse High School phenom and team prankster who would shirk baseball practice to steal soda and candy in the nearby shed.

"When he came up, it was easy for him," Berry said of Jones, a natural talent who was always looking for ways to get out of mundane workouts. "Now you can tell he really, really wants to get better. You can tell he wants to be one of the best to play.

"He feels he needs to mature, also. He's got some young guys [in Baltimore], and he's always talking about trying to be kind of a role model."

Yes, he is still throwing things and speaking his mind, most recently generating buzz for a Baltimore Sun video interview, during which he expressed his annoyance at the overflow of Yankees and Red Sox faithful at Camden Yards. But, as Jones points out, he's never hurt anyone. Nor has he broken the law, although he was mistaken for his NFL namesake in detainment in Canada, spawning a series of angry Tweets from Jones' Twitter account that made national news.

"Looking back on that one, I should have never done that one," Jones said.

As for outbursts against teammates, such as the time in 2009 when Jones laid into pitcher Rich Hill, Jones admits he "was definitely out of line" and let his frustration boil over.

"All I'm doing is trying to be myself," he said. "I admit there were some things I said, should have never tweeted certain things. I understand that. I mean, you take me for who I am. Do you want me to be some square, or do you want me to be myself?"

Manager Buck Showalter is fine with the latter, even if it means keeping Jones on track.

"He's 25 years old," Showalter said.

The skipper -- who made headlines this spring when he called out Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and Yankees captain Derek Jeter -- is no stranger to sound bites that make national news and adorn visiting clubhouses.

"We all say stupid [stuff] at 23, 24, 25. Some of us say stupid [stuff] at 54," Showalter quipped. "But we are also in need of some of the things [Jones] brings. ... He's competitive. I think he wants to win."

Though many things have been said and written about Jones, his passion has never been a question. Ask him about the team's young pitching, and he launches into a story about how excited he gets when watching them throw this spring.

Ask him about avoiding end-of-season injuries, which he has dealt with in some fashion in his three seasons in Baltimore, and his first response is, "I'm not going to stop running into walls. I always tell the pitchers, 'I got your back.' "

He doesn't want to talk about individual stats, although the fact that he hit a career-best .284 last season has gone largely unnoticed. So did his use of Twitter for goodwill, when he sent 10 random postcards while in Paris to fans who sent him their address.

"Did I have to do it? No," said Jones, who was in Europe participating in teammate Rick VandenHurk's baseball clinics to help promote awareness of the sport. "It's just me being myself. And I'm not going to stop being myself."

And is it really that bad?

"It's a double-edged sword," said veteran outfielder Randy Winn, who was with Seattle for Jones' first Major League camp and was reunited with him -- and had the locker next to him -- prior to his retirement this spring.

"You can take one event and look at it whichever way you want. If a guy doesn't throw stuff, you can say he doesn't care. When guys do throw stuff, either it's, 'That guy's such a competitor' or, 'No, he's too emotional.' You can't have it both ways," Winn said. "[Jones] definitely wears his heart on his sleeve. It's very obvious that this guy cares."

"He cares a lot," added Markakis, who often has a front-row seat to Jones' frustration in the dugout. "When you go through some losing seasons, it takes a toll on you.

"Sometimes he gets overanxious. He gets down on himself after one or two games, can go into a funk. But it's a long season. He's got great talent, he's fun to play with, fun to be around.

"I just think he needs to trust himself a little more, use his ability instead of going out there and trying to physically do it all in one lump sum."

Jones is starting to understand that it's a work in progress. He admitted to pressing at the plate last season, getting off to a slow start while trying to rescue a squad that started 2-16 and never recovered. He watches pitchers now, he studies movements. He talks to Hunter, and listens to Showalter when he dispels simple, sound advice: "You have the ability. Now use it."

And for the first time in his career, Jones is realizing how precious that is.

This winter, in San Diego, he ran into one of the Orioles' rookie-level prospects around the batting cage and mistakenly thought the tall, skinny kid was one of his friends.

"When I got closer, I realized it wasn't, so I introduce myself, and he goes, 'Oh, I know who you are,'" Jones said. "That's when it clicked in my head that he wants my job. This kid's 20. And I remember being 20 and wanting to take Jeremy Reed's job. So I know the hunger that everybody has. It just kind of put perspective on [things]. I've got to do my job up here so I can keep it. I understand what's going on. You've got to do your job for your team."

Knowing Jones, he won't do any of that quietly.

Brittany Ghiroli is a reporter for MLB.com. Read her blog, Britt's Bird Watch, and follow her on Twitter @britt_ghiroli. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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commenter 10 months ago
Baseball is fun for the players and the fans. Let stay focused "It's a game." Adam is a MAN who plays baseball and loves it with his whole heart. I know that for a fact because I am his aunt. When he was younger he always had a bat or glove in his hand always playing baseball.He played on three and four teams a year prior to being drafted. Yes he is competitive, what athlete is isn't. Yes he has a funny sense of humor, is he alone I don't think. So try an encourage, we all could use some of that!

 	
lucem 11 months ago
Jones is a 25 yr old who has played 2.5 seasons has hit around 275 average with 47 home runs and 186 rbi batting leadoff, second, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th while playing for the 2d worst team in baseball during that stretch...He's had no protection in the line up and has had the worst coaching during that spell. I'd say he is neither over rated nor under rated andadd that if he plays at that level over a 15 yr career, i'm sure he'll be in the O's hall of fame one day.

 	
supermag 11 months ago
Quite frankly, I think Adam Jones is over-rated.

He misjudges flyballs and is not focused at times. This is especially evident at the plate as he chases way too many pitches that are low and away...completely out of the strike zone. He also tends to be something of a "hot dog" on defensive plays. Just go make the catch...and lose the bubble gum...blowing bubbles while running after a ball you misjudged isn't cool.

 	
commenter 11 months agoin reply to supermag
hey hes learning. i agree with lucem. he has the potential 4 a hall of fame career.

 	
Bm0reBirds 11 months ago
As soon as Jones becomes a student of the game opposed to a great naturally gifted athlete playing baseball he will become a star around the league and not just in bmore. I really don't think he is going to have much of a choice with Buck as our manager so i expect him to show better patience and pitch selection at the plate and place himself out in center field better. I'm definitely predicting a more productive year from him this year!

Now I need to go fnd me some Big League chew!

 	
shernorioles 11 months ago
I have seen him on a few interviews, and he acts as if he has a chip on his shoulder. For instance,Opening Day, he was asked about all the excitement of the first home opener, Quote-: "it's great but there is too much media." .....unquote. What was that all about? And another time he got very defensive, on how the team played when Buck was brought in. Quote-"Tired of hearing it was him. He did not pitch, catch, or hit the ball. It was us!"...Unquote

 	
lucem 11 months agoin reply to shernorioles
He does have a chip on his shoulder but we don't know why...perhaps he has a really good reason for such or perhaps he's a spoiled brat, but frankly, most professional athletes have a chip of one sort or another and most feel they deserve to be treated special. Few of these guys are humble and most seem to feel they are owed something so, while I'm not being sarcastic or flip with you Shernorioles, I don't really care if Jones has a chip on his shoulder. My favorite baseball player of all was Dick Allen. Anyone who remembers Dick Allen's career knows that he suffered through the most aweful media barage in Philly, being blasted constantly by them for "his attitude" etc. He lands in Chicago and plays for Tanner who put in the Richie Allen rules, which meant he got away with more than other players, coming to the game drunk and late then hitting 500 foot home runs and staggering around the bases. It never moved me to hate or dislike him one bit. He is still my favorite player ever. I learned over the years why he was so angry and accepted it. I understand it, i agree with most of it...which, if i get a chance to hear what is up with jones, I will probably feel similarly about.

 	
zhm0310 11 months ago
If we continue to discuss chewing gum on here I'm going to start a Pedro Florimon Jr. rant. Since we'd be on the topic of meaningless subjects.

 	
zhm0310 11 months ago
I predict Jones hits a HR tomorrow, and we loose 5-3. Watch it's gonna happen, I don't want it to, but its not my fault i'm telepathic(sp)

 	
boogandbrooks 11 months agoin reply to zhm0310
i think thats psychopathic from what ive seen of your post at time. of course we will not win every game. but lets see if we cant win this one. just one at a time. i dont make any claim to being clarovoient. but i see a much improved record over last year. we have already doubled our win total from last april and we have only played four games

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