Deacon Jones (infielder)
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Grover William "Deacon" Jones (born April 18, 1934) is a retired American
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 ...
player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...
, coach,
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...
and scout. He appeared in 40 Major League games as a
first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
and pinch hitter for 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 ...
(1962–63; 1966). Jones attended
Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...
, threw right-handed, batted left-handed and was listed as tall and . In his 11-year minor-league career (1955–56; 1959–67; 1969), Jones with 154 home runs and a slugging percentage . His big-league experience consisted of 60 plate appearances and he (14 hits in 49
at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...
) with one home run (hit off Jim Hannan of the Washington Senators on September 28, 1963)1963-9-28 box score
from
Retrosheet Retrosheet is a nonprofit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores from every major ...
and 10
runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...
. A great natural hitter, Jones still holds the
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 ...
record for the highest single-season batting average when he for the
Dubuque Packers Minor league baseball teams have operated in the city of Dubuque, Iowa under a variety of names in various leagues, playing in 52 seasons between 1879 and 1976. Dubuque teams were an affiliate of the Houston Astros (1975–1976), Kansas City Royal ...
in 1956. He also had 135 hits, smashed 26 homers and had slugging percentage in only 330 at bats. After retiring as a player, Jones served as a scout and minor-league coach and manager in the White Sox organization through 1973. Jones was a coach for the Houston Astros from 1976–82, and with 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 ...
from 1984–87. Jones joined the
Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
as a minor-league hitting coach and liaison with minority communities. Jones is currently serving as the special assistant to the president for the
Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston metr ...
, a member of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.


References


External links

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Retrosheet
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SABR Biography Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Deacon 1934 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players Appleton Foxes players Baltimore Orioles scouts Baseball players from New York (state) Chicago White Sox players Chicago White Sox scouts Dubuque Packers players Fox Cities Foxes players Houston Astros coaches Indianapolis Indians players Lincoln Chiefs players Lynchburg White Sox players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball hitting coaches Minor league baseball coaches People from White Plains, New York Rapiños de Occidente players San Diego Padres coaches San Diego Padres (minor league) players Sarasota Sun Sox players Waterloo White Hawks players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople Florida Instructional League White Sox players Charleston White Sox players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Minor league baseball managers White Plains High School alumni