Adam Jones
Ever since the Erik Bedard trade that brought Adam Jones to Baltimore, he was anointed the Orioles CF of the future and deemed to possess all the tools necessary to make him a future superstar. He was given the reigns to the Orioles center field job in 2008 at the age of 22, when on any other team he probably would have still been in AAA. But the Orioles had nothing to lose, and decided to give him a shot. In the first half of the season he struggled just like any “rookie” would (he wasn’t eligible for rookie of the year due to the at bats he got the year before, but ’08 was his first full season), but in the second half of the season, Jones started to put the pieces together and O’s fans saw a glimmer of what was to come. Heading into this season, Jones was the Orioles little secret. Other than a few blurbs here or there (mainly fantasy baseball related) Jones wasn’t getting much publicity, but O’s fans knew he was primed for a breakout season. So, imagine my amazement when this morning as I’m doing my usual news surfing on the web (yes, while at work) I come across this little headline on the front page of MSN.com nestled at the bottom of the Fox Sports section.
“23-year-old might be best CF in majors”?!? I knew right away what player they were talking about. Of course, it was none other than Adam Jones. It really is one of the best articles I’ve seen written on any O’s player in a while. Not only does it highlight Jones’ baseball prowess but also talks about the great guy AJ is (something O’s fans have known ever since he was aquired…once again, thank you Mariners!). There really has been a surge of news surrounding Adam Jones in the last few weeks as article after article has mentioned AJ as “the real thing” or one of those rare “5-tool players” that usually can’t live up to the hype, but in this case, do. (By the way the Orioles have two legit 5-tool studs in the outfield in Jones and Markakis…just sayin’.) And just a few weeks ago when ESPN’s Baseball Tonight was comparing Hall of Famers to current players, Jones was called the next Willie Mays! Now, I consider Mays the greatest baseball player of all time, so that’s an absurd statement, but still, high praise indeed. So it seems the national media is starting to catch on to the CF of the Baltimore Orioles…finally. There really is nothing more I can add to what has already been said in today’s article but I would like point out one thing he said when downplaying the idea that he’s already at the top of his position when compared to guys like Torri Hunter:
“They’ve done it for eight to 10 years…I’ve been consistent for a month and a half. They’ve been consistent for most of their careers. You can’t compare those things.”
He certainly isn’t boastful and he definitely has a good head on his shoulders, and oh yeah, he’s right. We’re not even two months into the season so it’s way to early to crown Jones the best CF in baseball. Guys like Torri Hunter, Mike Cameron and Carlos Beltran that the article mentions have been doing this for years. AJ is having a great season and the numbers show he has been the best CF in the game so far this year, but it’s no different than someone having a hot streak before fizzling out and coming back down to earth. I think Jones is legit, and most scouts do as well, but he knows as well as anybody that he needs to do this for more than a couple months to be considered one of the game’s best.
Entering games Wednesday, Jones has the highest OPS of any major league CF.
There is no doubt in my mind that if Jones played for the Yankees or the Red Sox, he would have been a household name long before now because of ESPN’s love affair with those two teams. If on the Yanks or the Saawwwxxx, he would already be a lock for the All-Star game and would maybe even be getting some attention for MVP. But alas, he’s an Oriole and his actual production on the field is what must merit him attention from the national media rather than just the jersey he wears. Heck, it was only a couple weeks ago that ESPN finally updated last years unfortunate player profile pic to this years, something most other sports media outlets did long ago.
The article mentions a quote from Adam after last nights loss to the Yankees; “I’ll put our lineup against anybody’s”, and he’s a big reason for that. Whether or not he is the best CF in baseball, or ever will be, I’m just happy the guy is an Oriole.
I’ve been criticized (I won’t name names) for having music tastes that are often devoid of any feel good, singing with the windows rolled down, rockin’, happy tunes, but rather focuses on being different from the norm and usually less rockin’ or poppy than what most would consider instantly gratifying tunes…aka “weird”. This is, of course, a criticism I vehimately deny. I will admit, however, that when it comes to picking my best albums, they are usually albums that do not fit into the mainstream or pop music crowd. This isn’t to say that I don’t like some bands like that, it’s just that I do not consider those albums to be the best albums of whatever year. This is one reason why I always differentiate my year end list by calling it the best albums of the year, rather than my favorite…because those are two different things, however, I will say, oftentimes they are one and the same.
Posted by Hawkins 
A Round of Sound 