Bobby Jones (left-handed pitcher)

Robert Mitchell Jones (born April 11, 1972 in Orange, New Jersey) is a former Major League Baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball from 1997-2004. He made his MLB debut on May 18, 1997, for the Colorado Rockies. Jones is currently the pitching coach for the Rockland Boulders of the independent Can-Am League.

Jones moved to Rutherford, New Jersey in 1981 and played in Rutherford Little League from 1982-1984. In 1991, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 44th round as a draft-and-follow. 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 until it was closed down. Jones also spent time as the pitching coach for both the Don Bosco Prep 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, Low A) in 1993 and Stockton (California League, High A) in 1994. Following the 1994 season, the Colorado Rockies chose Jones in the minor league phase of the Rule V Draft.

In 1995, Jones spent most of the season with the New Haven Ravens (Eastern League, Double-A), who lost the league championship series to Reading. 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 1996 and 1997, and he was 5-1 when the Rockies called him up to replace the injured Bill Swift on the roster.

Major league career

Jones made his major league debut at Shea Stadium against his boyhood team, the New York Mets. He got a no-decision in that game, won by the Mets, but earned the victory in his next start, against the Houston Astros.

Jones spent all of 1998 and most of 1999 with the Colorado club, splitting his time between the starting rotation and the bullpen. In early 2000, 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' pitcher earning the victory.

Jones spent the 2001 season on the disabled list, but came back to the Mets in 2002 before being traded to the San Diego Padres, coincidentally becoming reunited there with Bobby J. Jones. He spent 2003 in Triple-A, starting with the Richmond Braves and finishing with the Omaha Royals. He was a non-roster invitee in 2004 Boston Red Sox spring training and made the big club from there, but then went into rehabilitation. After a brief stint with the independent Newark Bears of the Atlantic League in 2005, the Chicago White Sox picked him up and assigned him to Triple-A Charlotte. In 2006, Jones was signed by the Detroit Tigers, pitching for Double-A Erie.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
• Two former baseball coaches sue over alleged wrongful firing