Robert Mitchell Jones (born April 11, 1972) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) during six seasons between 1997 and 2004. He made his MLB debut on May 18, 1997, for the Colorado Rockies. From 2016–2022, Jones served as manager for the

Sussex County Miners The Sussex County Miners are a professional independent league baseball team based in the Augusta section of Frankford Township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. The Miners are members of the East Division of the Frontier League, an ...

of the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

. He currently is the Vice President and Chief Baseball Officer for the

New Jersey Jackals The New Jersey Jackals are an American professional baseball team based in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. The team was founded in 1998 by Floyd Hall and is owned by Al Dorso, a businessman who also owns the Sussex County Miners, ...

of the

. Jones moved to

Rutherford, New Jersey Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 18,834. Rutherford was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 21, 1881, fr ...

, in 1981 and played in Rutherford Little League from 1982 to 1984. In 1991, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 44th round as a

draft-and-follow The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...

. He signed prior to the 1992 draft and was assigned to Helena in the Pioneer League (rookie), where he went 5–4. Jones operated his own baseball academy named Bobby Jones Sports in

Montville, New Jersey Montville is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 21,528, reflecting an increase of 689 (+3.3%) from the 20,839 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in tu ...

, until it was closed down. Jones also spent time as the pitching coach for both the

Don Bosco Prep , motto_translation = To Increase in Knowledge and Grace , accreditation = Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools , rival = Bergen Catholic High SchoolSaint Joseph Regional High School , mascot = , ma ...

and Montclair Mounties varsity baseball teams. He also worked with the Academy of Pro Players located in Hawthorne, New Jersey, as a pitching instructor.

Minor league

Jones rose through the Brewers' organization, playing at Beloit (

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

, Low A) in and Stockton ( California League, High A) in . Following the 1994 season, the Colorado Rockies chose Jones in the minor league phase of the Rule V Draft. In , Jones spent most of the season with the

New Haven Ravens New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

( Eastern League, Double-A), who lost the league championship series to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

. Around the All-Star break, he spent a month with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox ( Pacific Coast League, Triple-A). He was back with the Sky Sox in and , and he was 5-1 when the Rockies called him up to replace the injured

Bill Swift William Charles Swift (born October 27, 1961) is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher. Swift played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, and Colorado Rockies. Scholastic career ...

on the roster.

Major league career

Jones made his major league debut at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

against his boyhood team, the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. He got a no-decision in that game, won by the Mets, but earned the

victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

in his next start, against the Houston Astros. Jones spent all of and most of with the Colorado club, splitting his time between the

starting rotation R rabbit ears :Indicates a participant in the game who hears things perhaps too well for their own good. A player who becomes nervous or chokes when opposing players or fans yell at or razz them is said to have rabbit ears. Also, an umpire ...

and the bullpen. In early , the Rockies traded Jones to the Mets, meaning he and Bobby J. Jones were now on the same roster. The two had faced each other in a 1999 game, with the Rockies'

earning the victory. Jones spent the season on the disabled list, but came back to the Mets in before being traded to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

, coincidentally becoming reunited there with Bobby J. Jones. He spent in Triple-A, starting with the Richmond Braves and finishing with the

Omaha Royals Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...

. He was a non-roster invitee in

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

spring training and made the big club from there, but then went into rehabilitation. After a brief stint with the independent

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

of the Atlantic League in , the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

picked him up and assigned him to Triple-A

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. In , Jones was signed by the Detroit Tigers, pitching for Double-A

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
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Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)Two former baseball coaches sue over alleged wrongful firing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Bobby 1972 births Living people African-American baseball players Baseball players from New Jersey Beloit Brewers players Binghamton Mets players Boston Red Sox players Charlotte Knights players Chipola Indians baseball players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Erie SeaWolves players Helena Brewers players Major League Baseball pitchers Minor league baseball managers New Haven Ravens players New York Mets players Newark Bears players Norfolk Tides players Omaha Royals players People from Orange, New Jersey People from Rutherford, New Jersey Richmond Braves players Rockland Boulders players San Diego Padres players Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Manhattan Baseball players from New York City St. Lucie Mets players Stockton Ports players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople