Jacque Dewayne Jones (born April 25, 1975) is a former

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), ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

. He also coached for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Early life

He graduated from

San Diego High School San Diego High School (SDHS) is an urban public high school located on the southern edge of Balboa Park, in San Diego, California, United States. It is the oldest high school in the San Diego Unified School District, one of the oldest public sch ...

in 1993, and the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, where he had a stellar career. In , he was a first team all-American outfielder for the Trojans. In , he was a member of the US Olympic Baseball team. In 1993, he was named player of the year in the SCL with, .332 batting average, 33 home runs, and 124 RBI.

Professional career

Minnesota Twins

Jacque was drafted by the

in the second round of the amateur draft. He played three seasons in the minor leagues, and was brought up to the majors in . He started off in

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the Baseball positions, baseball and softball fielding position between Left fielder, left field and Right fielder, right field. In the numberi ...

, but moved to

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

to accommodate

Torii Hunter Torii Kedar Hunter (; born July 18, 1975) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Detroit Tigers from 1997 ...

. Between -, he batted over .300, and went to the playoffs with the Twins. The Twins outfield was one of the fastest in baseball in , boasting Jones, Hunter and Shannon Stewart. With the acquisition of Stewart, Jones was moved to

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

. Jacque was able to hit for power and averaged 20

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s between -2005. Jones officially ended his relationship with the Twins by turning down arbitration on December 19, 2005. After considering a deal to play for

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, he signed a three-year deal with the

just a day later.

Chicago Cubs

On August 15, 2006, Jone
hit a home run over the center field wall
against

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...

Minute Maid Park Minute Maid Park is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 as the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. It has a seating capacity of 41,168, which includes 5,197 club seats and 63 ...

, well over 440 feet. He finished the season strong with a .285 batting average, and tied his career best with 27 home runs. After the 2006 season, it appeared Jones' future with Chicago was uncertain. It was rumored that he had requested a trade and a deal was in the works, but on February 17, 2007, he asked to not be traded, and that he was hoping to have a comeback year. Jones remained with the Cubs to start the season, though he was never really accepted by the fan base, partly due to his lack of production and partly due to questionable comments regarding the teams decision to fire

Dusty Baker Johnnie B. "Dusty" Baker Jr. (born June 15, 1949) is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Houston Astros in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in the MLB for 19 seasons, most notably with the L ...

, whom Jones said he came to Chicago to play for. Baker was replaced by

Lou Piniella Louis Victor Piniella ( usually ; born August 28, 1943) is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and ...

in December 2006. Early in the 2007 season he became disgruntled with his playing time and the Cubs again sought to trade him. Trades 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 penna ...

and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

fell through in June 2007 because of new owner

Sam Zell Samuel Zell (born Shmuel Zielonka, September 28, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. A former lawyer, Zell is the founder and chairman of Equity Group Investments, a private investment firm, founded in 1968. He ha ...

's unwillingness to transfer money to another team to cover Jones' remaining salaries.

Detroit Tigers

On November 12, 2007, Jones was traded to the

for

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Omar Infante Omar Rafael Infante n-FAHN-tay(born December 26, 1981) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves, Miami M ...

. After getting off to a poor start, batting just .165 in his first 24 games, he was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Tigers on May 5, . As a Tiger, Jacque Jones's best game was against the Texas Rangers where he had his only home run in a Detroit uniform as well as a triple, which came in back to back at bats. However, on May 13, he was released by the Tigers.

Florida Marlins

On May 19, 2008, Jones signed a minor league deal with the

. Jones first reported to extended spring training in

Jupiter, Florida Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the town had a population of 61,047 as of April 1, 2020. It is 84 miles north of Miami, and the northernmost community in the Miami met ...

. On May 23, he was added to the major league roster and made his Marlin debut in center field on May 25. He was designated for assignment on June 11 and became a free agent on June 20 after rejecting his assignment to the minors.

Cincinnati Reds

On February 5, , Jones signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. He did not make the team, and was reassigned to the minor league camp on March 30. He was cut after a poor

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. He chose to leave the Reds, rather than accept a minor league contract.

Return to Minnesota

Jones signed a minor league contract with the

on February 9, 2010. He was assigned to the minor league after that. He received very loud standing ovations during his at-bats during two exhibition games against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

Target Field Target Field is a baseball stadium in the historic warehouse district of downtown Minneapolis. Since its opening in 2010, the stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins. The stadium hosted the 2014 Major Leag ...

After retirement from playing

Jones was on the ballot for

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

in 2014 but received only one vote, less than the minimum 5% needed to appear in subsequent years. Jones was hired as the hitting coach for the Class A

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and play their home games at Parkview Field. They won their lone Midwest Le ...

by the San Diego Padres for the 2012 season. In 2013, he was promoted to be the hitting coach for the Double-A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded. ...

. In 2014, he was named the hitting coach for the Triple-A

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University ...

but resigned from the job midway through the season. In 2016, he was hired by the

as the team's assistant hitting coach. During their 2017 postseason, just before playing Game 1 of the 2017 National League Division Series on October 6, 2017, the Nationals announced Jones′s indefinite suspension with pay pending a team investigation of a revenge porn incident.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Jacque 1975 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players Baseball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Baseball players from San Diego Chicago Cubs players Detroit Tigers players Florida Marlins players Fort Myers Miracle players Kennesaw State Owls baseball players Major League Baseball hitting coaches Major League Baseball outfielders Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Minnesota Twins players New Britain Rock Cats players Newark Bears players Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in baseball Rochester Red Wings players Salt Lake Buzz players USC Trojans baseball players Washington Nationals coaches 21st-century African-American sportspeople American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Yaquis de Obregón players 20th-century African-American sportspeople Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players San Diego High School alumni