American baseball player, coach, and manager
Baseball player
Thomas Michael Jones (October 13, 1954 – January 15, 2009) was an American professional baseball player who later served as a coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2004. He was also a manager in Minor League Baseball for 13 seasons. As a player, Jones was listed at 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) and 185 pounds (84 kg); he batted and threw right-handed.
Biography
Jones was born in Stockton, California,[1] and played college baseball for the Pacific Tigers baseball team.[2][3]
Jones played in minor league baseball from 1976 through 1981.[4] His first five seasons were spent in Class A and Class A Short Season leagues.[4] In his final season, he played in Triple-A for the Phoenix Giants of the Pacific Coast League (PCL).[4] Overall, Jones appeared in 223 games in six seasons, batting .258 with eight home runs and 92 RBIs.[4] He made 125 appearances as an outfielder, while also making appearances at every infield position.[4]
Jones then was a manager in the minor leagues from 1982 through 1993, and again in 1997.[4] He worked for multiple franchises: the Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers, and Chicago Cubs.[4] Jones managed Bo Jackson in 1986, when both were with the Memphis Chicks of the Southern League.[2] Jones managed at the Triple-A level for one season, with the Calgary Cannons of the PCL in 1990.[4] His final season as a manager was spent with the Lethbridge Black Diamonds in Alberta, Canada,[4] an early farm team of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who entered MLB in 1998. In 13 seasons as a manager, his teams accrued a record of 760–768, for a .497 winning percentage.[4] Jones gained Manager of the Year honors during the 1982, 1983, and 1992 seasons.[5]
Jones held several positions with the Diamondbacks; he was director of field operations in 1996 and 1997,[5] and player development director from 1998 to 2004.[6][5] He served as first base coach for the 2004 Diamondbacks, from early July through the end of the season.[1] In 2005, he was a scout for the Mariners.[5] He later worked as director of baseball operations for the Arizona Fall League during the 2008 season.[6]
Jones died of brain cancer at his Phoenix home at the age of 54.[6] He was survived by a son and a daughter.[6]
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