Ruppert Sanderson Jones (born March 12, 1955) 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), ...
center fielder. He was the first player selected in the
1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft
The 1976 MLB Expansion Draft was held November 5, 1976. This expansion draft was conducted by Major League Baseball to stock the major league rosters of the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners, new major league expansion franchises establis ...
by the
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...
.
Kansas City Royals
Jones was born in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
and moved to
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
as a pre-teen. He played
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
and
football at
Berkeley High School in
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...
, earning all-East Bay honors in each sport. He received scholarship offers to play football at
Arizona State University,
Oregon State University
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...
and the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...
, but opted to focus on baseball as he considered himself a better outfielder than
wide receiver.
He was drafted by the
Kansas City Royals in the third round of the
1973 Major League Baseball draft. After three seasons in their
farm system, in which he batted .287 with 38
home runs and 173
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 ...
, Jones went into
Spring training 1976 competing for the open
outfield
The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area.
In cricket, baseball a ...
job in
right field. Though he had a decent Spring, he was beaten out by
Tom Poquette, and reassigned to triple A Omaha just as the regular season was set to begin.
After batting .262 with nineteen home runs and 73 RBIs in half a season 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 ...
, Jones earned a call up to the majors for the second half of the 1976 season. He was the hero of his second major league game, going two-for-five and driving in three
runs to lead the Royals to an 8–3 victory over 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 ...
. For the season, he batted .216 with one home run and seven RBIs as a fourth
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 c ...
and left-handed bat off the bench.
Seattle Mariners
Royals
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 ...
Whitey Herzog called Jones one of the top three prospects in his team's organization, and realized that they were likely to lose Jones when he was left unprotected in the 1976 expansion draft. However, given the amount of young talent in the organization, Jones did not fit the team's future plans, and was thereby left unprotected. Actor
Danny Kaye, who was part owner of the Seattle Mariners, called Jones' name as the first overall pick in the expansion draft.
Jones' power and range in
center field
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...
immediately made him a fan favorite in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
. He was batting .256 with seventeen home runs and fifty RBIs at the
All-Star break to be named the first ever
All-Star representative of the club at the
1977 game. He ended the season at .263 with 24 home runs and 76 RBIs to be named the 1977
Topps
The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, a ...
Rookie All-Star center fielder.
On May 16, 1978, Jones tied a major league record for outfielders with twelve
putouts
In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or '' fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods:
* Tagging a runner wit ...
in an
extra innings
Extra innings is the extension of a baseball or softball game in order to break a tie.
Ordinarily, a baseball game consists of nine regulation innings (in softball and high school baseball games there are typically seven innings; in Little Lea ...
game against the
Detroit Tigers. His 1978 season was interrupted by an
appendectomy in mid June. He returned in late July, but managed just a .214
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
the rest of the way. For the season he batted .235 with six home runs and 46 RBIs.
He returned healthy in 1979, and established career highs in runs (109),
hits (166),
triples (9), RBIs (78) and
stolen bases (33) while playing a full 162 game schedule. He became the first Mariner to have at least fifteen home runs and stolen bases before the All-Star break; no Mariner would do so again for nineteen years. Following the season, he was traded to the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
with
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 ...
Jim Lewis for
Rick Anderson,
Jim Beattie,
Juan Beníquez
Juan José Beníquez Torres (born May 13, 1950) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals an ...
and
Jerry Narron. He left the Mariners with the club record for most
runs scored in a season (109 in 1979) and he is tied for club records for runs and
walks in a game.
New York Yankees
Jones was batting .223 with nine home runs and 42 RBIs playing center and batting second in the Yankees' line-up when he separated his shoulder on August 25, 1980 crashing into the outfield wall in
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home ba ...
chasing a
Tony Armas
Antonio Rafael Armas Machado (born July 2, 1953) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1976 to 1989. He is the father of pitcher Tony Armas Jr. and the older brother o ...
fly ball. The Yankees won 103 games that season to win the
American League East
The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...
, however, Jones was unable to appear in the post-season as his injury required season ending surgery. He sued A's owner
Charlie Finley
Charles Oscar Finley (February 22, 1918 – February 19, 1996), nicknamed Charlie O or Charley O, was an American businessman who owned Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas C ...
after the season.
At one point during the
Winter Meetings
Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...
, Jones was rumored to be heading to the
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 ...
in a rare
Yankees–Red Sox deal. However, following the Yankees' signing of
Dave Winfield
David Mark Winfield (born October 3, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He is the special assistant to the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Over his 22-year career, he play ...
as a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
, the deal fell through. Instead, he was dealt 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 ...
the following Spring with
Joe Lefebvre
Joseph Henry Lefebvre ( ; born February 22, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played all or parts of six seasons in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees (1980), San Diego Padres (1981–83) and Phila ...
,
Tim Lollar
William Timothy Lollar (born March 17, 1956) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He was born in Missouri to Homer and Betty Jean (nee McHenry) Lollar. Tim was a graduate of Farmington High School in Farmington, Missouri, and Mineral Area Co ...
and
Chris Welsh
Christopher Charles Welsh (born April 14, 1955) is an American sportscaster and former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the San Diego Padres, Montreal Expos, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, and Cinci ...
for
Jerry Mumphrey
Jerry Wayne Mumphrey (born September 9, 1952) is an American retired professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals (1974–79), San Diego Padres (1980), New York Yankees (1981–83), Houston Astro ...
and
John Pacella
John Lewis Pacella (born September 15, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He became known for his unusual delivery that sometimes caused him to lose his cap after a pitch.
Background
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Pacella mov ...
.
San Diego Padres
The Padres finished in last place in both halves of the
strike shortened 1981 season. For his part, Jones batted .249 and tied for the team lead with 53
runs scored. He was batting .312 with eleven home runs and fifty RBIs at the
1982 All-Star break to earn the second All-Star nod of his career. He was the Padres' sole representative despite the fact that San Diego was in second place in the
National League West
The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...
at the time. In his only
at-bat, he led off the third inning with a triple, and scored on a
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...
sacrifice fly. Jones was a fan favorite on the 1982 Padres, and Padre Yellow "Rupe's Troops" T-shirts were a frequent sight during the season.
Jones appeared in 133 games for the Padres in 1983, the fewest he'd played in a full season uninterrupted by injury. He was a free agent at the end of the season, and when the Padres acquired
Carmelo Martínez from the
Chicago Cubs at the Winter meetings, Jones became expendable.
Detroit Tigers
Jones spent Spring training 1984 with the
Pittsburgh Pirates, but failed to make the club. A week into the season, he signed with the Detroit Tigers. He began the season assigned to triple A with the
Evansville Triplets
The Evansville Triplets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Triple-A American Association (AA) from 1970 to 1984. They were located in Evansville, Indiana, and played their home games at Bosse Field. The Triplets served as a farm club for t ...
; a .313 batting average, nine home runs and 45 RBIs earned him a call up to the majors by the beginning of June. He spent the rest of the season
platooning with
Larry Herndon
Larry Darnell Herndon (born November 3, 1953), sometimes referred to by the nickname "Hondo", is an American former baseball outfielder and hitting coach. He played in Major League Baseball in 1974 and from 1976 to 1988.
Born in Mississippi and ...
in
left field
In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...
and occasionally spelling a day off for
Chet Lemon
Chester Earl Lemon (born February 12, 1955) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder.
A native of Jackson, Mississippi, he grew up in Los Angeles. He was drafted in the first round of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft and played 16 season ...
in center. Perhaps his most indelible moment of his season in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
came on June 24, when he cleared the right field roof of
Tiger Stadium with a shot off
Milwaukee Brewers right-hander
Tom Tellmann. For the season, Jones batted .284 with 37 RBIs and nine home runs. Six of which came at Tiger Stadium to earn him the nickname "Rooftop" Ruppert.
The
1984 Tigers won 104 games and coasted into the post-season. Jones went hitless in eight at-bats in the
American League Championship Series and
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
(in which he faced off against the Padres), winning the Series with the Tigers. He became a free agent at the end of the season. The Tigers believed that he was a part-time player at this stage of his career, and were only willing to pay him as such. After some bitter negotiation between Jones and the Tigers organization, he signed with the
California Angels.
California Angels
Jones served as a fourth outfielder and
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 ...
his first season in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. His 21 home runs were second only to
Reggie Jackson. He and Jackson switched roles in 1986, with Jackson assuming DH duties and Jones earning most of his playing time in right field. The Angels won the
American League West
The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...
that year, earning Jones his second trip to the post-season, but lost the
1986 American League Championship Series to the Boston Red Sox in heart-breaking fashion. Jones collected three hits in the ALCS, scoring four runs and driving in two.
His role became far more diminished in 1987 as he didn't even log his first plate appearance until the eighth game of the season. He ended up with eight home runs and 28 RBIs in just 213 plate appearances.
1988 season
Jones was invited to the
Milwaukee Brewers' Spring training camp in
Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
as a non-roster invitee in 1988. Though he hit well, he failed to make the club. He signed a minor league deal with the
Texas Rangers in the beginning of May,
and earned
American Association American Association may refer to:
Baseball
* American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891
* American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997
* American Association of Profe ...
"Player of the Week" honors his second week with the
Oklahoma City 89ers
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
. His stay in
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
, however, was brief. After fifty games, he left for Japan, signing with the
Hanshin Tigers
The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...
. He returned to Oklahoma City in 1989, but with a torn rotator cuff and a torn labrum, he called it quits after 27 games.
Personal life
Jones is divorced from the mother of his daughter and son (Gabrielle and Ranon Jones), and has been married to his second wife, Betty, since 1997. He now lives in
Rancho Bernardo, California
Rancho Bernardo is a master-planned community in the northern hills of the city of San Diego, California.
Geography
The topography of Rancho Bernardo consists of canyons and rolling hills that have large bedrock outcroppings. The major floral bio ...
, a suburb of
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
, and works with The Boon Group, a third-party administrator that sells employee benefits and administrative services to government contractors. He and former major league pitcher
Dave Stewart coach the Easton A's, a San Diego-based Travel Ball Team for ages thirteen and fourteen.
References
External links
, o
Pura Pelota
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Ruppert
1955 births
Living people
African-American baseball players
Águilas del Zulia players
American expatriate baseball players in Japan
American League All-Stars
Baseball players from Dallas
Baseball players from San Diego
Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California) alumni
Billings Mustangs players
California Angels players
Detroit Tigers players
Evansville Triplets players
Hanshin Tigers players
Kansas City Royals players
Major League Baseball center fielders
National League All-Stars
New York Yankees players
Oklahoma City 89ers players
Omaha Royals players
San Diego Padres players
San Jose Bees players
Seattle Mariners players
Tiburones de La Guaira players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Waterloo Royals players
People from Rancho Bernardo, San Diego
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople