Mitchell C. Jones (born October 15, 1977) is an American 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 ...

who played for the

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 ...

in 2009.

Amateur career

Jones played ball in high school at Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah, and was drafted by the Texas Rangers in and 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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

in and . He set a school record at Utah Valley State College (now

Utah Valley University Utah Valley University (UVU) is a public university in Orem, Utah. UVU offers master's, bachelor's, associate degrees, and certificates. Previously called Utah Valley State College, the school attained university status in July 2008. History ...

) with 41 career homers in two years, then transferred to Arizona State University. His senior year at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

he posted a .787

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

with 27

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 (a single-season ASU record) and 92 RBI. Jones was a 2x consensus All-American in 1998 and 2000. In 1999, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox and was named a league all-star. He signed after college with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

after being drafted in the 7th round of the

2000 Major League Baseball draft First round selections Compensation picks Background The Florida Marlins made Adrián González of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, California the first overall selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft. González, who was rated as ...

Professional Baseball Career

New York Yankees

He worked his way through the Yankees' major league system, becoming a six-time All-Star. He started at the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate, the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

, where he batted .268 with 27 home runs and 79 RBIs on that year. In April, he

hit for the cycle In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League Ba ...

, a feat that was not repeated by a Clipper until

Jason Kipnis Jason Michael Kipnis (born April 3, 1987; nicknamed "Kip") is an American professional baseball second baseman who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs. He attended Glenbrook N ...

did it in 2010. Jones won the 2001 Single-A, 2004 Double-A, and 2005 Triple-A Home Run Derby, narrowly defeating

Ian Kinsler Ian Michael Kinsler ( he, איאן קינסלר; born June 22, 1982) is an American-Israeli former professional baseball second baseman, World Series champion, World Baseball Classic champion, Olympian, and advisor in the San Diego Padres fron ...

. Jones received his first Major League call up in May 2006 by the New York Yankees.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Jones was signed to a minor league contract by the

prior to the start of the season and spent two months playing for the Las Vegas 51s in the Dodgers minor league system. In June 2007, he was sold by the Dodgers to the

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a s ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

. He returned to the Dodgers organization in and once more played for AAA Las Vegas. He received a non-roster invitation to spring training by the Dodgers in 2009 but failed to make the roster and was assigned to the AAA

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an el ...

to begin the season. On June 16, the Dodgers purchased his contract and called him up to the Major League team. He made his major league debut that night, appearing as a pinch hitter in a game against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. He struck out in his first at-bat. The next night he got his first major league hit off A's reliever

Brad Ziegler Brad Gregory Ziegler (born October 10, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, and Miami Marlins. Ziegler was one of th ...

after several years in the minor leagues. Two nights later on June 19, he got his first major league start against the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

as the

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

. Jones appeared in 8 games with the Dodgers, primarily as a pinch hitter. He went 4 for 13, finishing with a batting average of .308 before he was designated for assignment on July 1 and returned to the Isotopes on July 6. In September 2009, after missing a month of the minor league season due to MLB appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jones was named the winner of the

Joe Bauman Home Run Award The Joe Bauman Home Run Award, formerly known as the Round-Tripper-Award, is given to the Minor League Baseball player who hit the most regular season home runs that year. The award, first given in 2002, is named after Joe Bauman, who set a the ...

, for the most home runs — 35 — in all of Minor League Baseball.Hill, Benjamin
"Jones slugs way to Bauman Award: Home run crown, first big league action mark milestone season"
MLB.com, Sept. 15, 2009. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved 2009-09-22. Jones finished the season batting .297, 103 RBI and 35 HR.

Atlanta Braves

On December 17, 2009, Jones signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On July 30, 2010, Jones was acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations. He played for the Pirates AAA team, the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

References

External links

CBS Player Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Mitch 1977 births Living people Major League Baseball outfielders Staten Island Yankees players Utah Valley Wolverines baseball players Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Tampa Yankees players Norwich Navigators players Trenton Thunder players Columbus Clippers players Las Vegas 51s players Albuquerque Isotopes players Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Los Angeles Dodgers players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Indianapolis Indians players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players Gwinnett Braves players Baseball players from Utah All-American college baseball players