Lynn Morris Jones (born January 1, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals. He later was a coach for the Royals, Florida Marlins, and Boston Red Sox, and served as a manager in the minor leagues.

Lynn Jones
Jones with the Kansas City Royals in 1984
Outfielder
Born: (1953-01-01) January 1, 1953 (age 71)
Meadville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 13, 1979, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
October 4, 1986, for the Kansas City Royals
MLB statistics
Batting average.252
Home runs7
Runs batted in91
Teams
As player

As coach

Career highlights and awards

Biography

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Jones attended Thiel College, in western Pennsylvania, where he played for the Tomcats, setting the school's single-season batting record, hitting .440 in 1974. A three-sport athlete, Jones also played basketball and soccer in college. In 1987, he was inducted into the college's athletic Hall of Fame.[1] He joined the Theta Phi chapter of Alpha Chi Rho Fraternity while at Thiel.

Playing career

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Jones was originally drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 10th round of the 1974 June draft before being chosen by the Detroit Tigers in the 1978 Rule 5 draft.[2]

Named Detroit's Rookie of the Year in 1979, Jones also played in 14 career post-season games with the Kansas City Royals (1984–1985), going 2-for-3 with a double and a triple in six games in the 1985 World Series against St. Louis.

Over eight-major league seasons, Jones batted .252 with seven home runs and 91 RBI in 527 games.

Post-playing career

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Following his retirement as a player, Jones managed in the minor leagues for the Florida Marlins and Atlanta Braves organizations. In nine seasons as a minor-league manager, Jones compiled a 555–630 (.468) record and reached the postseason twice, in 1995 and 1997 with Kane County of the Midwest League.

Jones was first base coach in the major leagues for the Royals in 1991 and 1992.[2] He also coached (initially first base, then third base) for the Marlins in 2001,[2] when he also instructed the club's outfielders and baserunners. During 2004 and 2005, Jones coached first base for the Boston Red Sox.[2] He missed part of the 2004 season after sustaining a non-baseball eye injury.[3] The 2004 Red Sox won the World Series, Jones' second championship team.

After working as the minor-league baserunning coordinator for the Braves, Jones joined the coaching staff of his alma mater, Thiel College, in 2013.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Flanagan, Jeffrey (May 17, 2007). "Another Thiel Grad Trumps the Mayor". The Kansas City Star.
  2. ^ a b c d "Lynn Jones". Retrosheet. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  3. ^ Hohler, Bob (May 7, 2004). "Red Sox Notebook: Serious concerns". The Boston Globe. p. E6. Retrieved June 4, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Lynn Jones joins Thiel baseball staff". thielathletics.com. February 28, 2013. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014 – via Wayback Machine.
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Preceded by Kansas City Royals first base coach
1991–1992
Succeeded by
Preceded by Florida Marlins first base coach
2001
April 2–May 28
Succeeded by
Preceded by Florida Marlins third base coach
2001
May 29–October 7
Succeeded by
Preceded by Lowell Spinners manager
2003
Succeeded by
Preceded by Boston Red Sox first base coach
2004–2005
Succeeded by