Cleon Jones facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cleon Jones
Left fielder
Born: (1942-06-24) June 24, 1942 (age 83) Mobile, Alabama, U.S.
Batted: Right Threw: Left
debut
September 14, 1963, for the New York Mets
Last appearance
May 1, 1976, for the Chicago White Sox
MLB statistics
Batting average	.281
Home runs	93
Runs batted in	524
Teams
New York Mets (1963, 1965–1975) Chicago White Sox (1976)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star (1969) World Series champion (1969) New York Mets Hall of Fame

Cleon Joseph Jones (born June 24, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a left fielder in Major League Baseball. Jones spent most of his career with the New York Mets. In 1969, he caught the final out of the "Miracle Mets" World Series Championship. This win was against the Baltimore Orioles.

Cleon Jones' Baseball Journey

Starting in the Minor Leagues

Cleon Jones played both football and baseball in high school. He attended Mobile County Training School in Mobile, Alabama. He also played at Alabama A&M University. Later, he played baseball for the Grambling State Tigers.

In 1962, Jones signed with the New York Mets. He was an amateur free agent. In 1963, he hit over .300 for two minor league teams. These were the Raleigh Mets and the Auburn Mets. Because he played so well, the Mets called him up to the major league team. He skipped playing in Double-A or Triple-A leagues. During his first time with the Mets, he got two hits in 15 tries. This was a .133 batting average.

In 1964, Jones played for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. He made the Mets team in 1965 after Spring training. He played in the first game of the season against the Los Angeles Dodgers. But he was sent back to Buffalo in May. His batting average was .156. He came back to New York in September. On September 22, he hit his first major league home run. This was against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He finished the season with a .149 batting average.

Becoming a New York Met Star

In 1966, Jones became the starting center fielder. He hit .275 with eight home runs. He also had 57 runs batted in (RBIs) and 16 stolen bases. He finished tied for fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. His batting average dropped to .246 in 1967. He shared playing time in center field with Larry Stahl.

After that season, the Mets got Tommie Agee. Agee was Jones' childhood friend. He was a former Gold Glove winner. Jones then moved to left field. Agee played center field.

In 1968, Jones started sharing time in left field with Art Shamsky. He was hitting .205 in May. But then he had a great game on May 18. He got three hits, a home run, and two RBIs. This helped the Mets win 5–2 against the Atlanta Braves. After that, Jones started hitting much better. On July 16, he had one of his best games. He got four hits, three RBIs, and played all three outfield positions. He ended the season with a .297 batting average. This was the sixth best in the National League.

The "Amazin' Mets" Season

In the first half of 1969, Jones was hitting .341. He had ten home runs and 56 RBIs. This earned him a spot as the starting left fielder for the All-Star Game. He got two hits and scored two runs in the NL's 9–3 win. He hit a home run in the first game after the All-Star break. He became the best hitter for the surprising Mets. His batting average was .340. The Mets were in second place, five games behind the Chicago Cubs. This was in the new National League East division.

A Key Moment in 1969

On July 30, 1969, the Houston Astros played a doubleheader at Shea Stadium. The Mets lost the first game badly. In the second game, they were losing 7–0 in the third inning. Johnny Edwards hit a double to Jones in left field. This made the score 8–0.

Mets manager Gil Hodges walked out to left field. He talked to Jones for a few minutes. Then, Hodges walked back to the dugout. Jones followed him. Hodges replaced Jones with Ron Swoboda. At the time, newspapers said Jones had a leg injury. He didn't play for several games. Other reporters thought Jones was taken out for not trying hard enough. Some thought Hodges wanted to send a message to the whole team. He wanted them to know he wouldn't accept a lack of effort.

Years later, in 2009, Jones talked about this moment. He said Hodges asked him why he didn't look good chasing a fly ball. Jones said he pointed to the wet field. He reminded Hodges about his leg injury. He said the field conditions made it hard to play his best. Jones said Hodges agreed he shouldn't be playing. They walked off the field together. Jones said Hodges was his favorite manager. He would never embarrass a player in public. Jones believes this moment made the other players afraid. He thinks it was a turning point for the team that season.

World Series Champions!

The Mets won 38 of their last 50 games. They finished the 1969 season with 100 wins. This was eight games better than the second-place Cubs.

Jones ended the season with a .340 batting average. This was third in the league. Only Pete Rose and Roberto Clemente had higher averages. Jones was second on the team in home runs, RBIs, and runs scored. Tommie Agee was first in all three.

Jones batted an amazing .429 in the Mets' three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves. This was in the 1969 National League Championship Series. In game two, Jones got three hits, a home run, two runs scored, and three RBIs. The Mets won that game 11–6.

The Mets were big underdogs in the 1969 World Series. But they took a 3–1 lead in the series. In game five, the Orioles were ahead 3–0. Jones was the first batter in the sixth inning. Dave McNally hit Jones in the foot with a pitch. But the home plate umpire Lou DiMuro said the ball missed him. Gil Hodges came out to argue. He showed DiMuro the ball, which had shoe polish on it. DiMuro changed his call and gave Jones first base. The next batter, Donn Clendenon, hit a two-run home run. This brought the Mets within one run of Baltimore.

Al Weis hit a solo home run in the seventh inning to tie the game. In the eighth inning, Jones hit a double off the wall. It almost went out for a home run. He scored on Ron Swoboda's double a few batters later. The Mets were leading 5–3 in the ninth inning. Orioles second baseman Davey Johnson hit a fastball. Jones caught it near the warning track. This catch won the World Series for the Mets!

Later Years with the Mets

Jones with the Mets during spring training in 1970

In 1970, Jones had a tough start. His batting average was .167 in May. But it improved to .251. He then had a 23-game hitting streak. For the whole season, he hit .277. In 1971, Jones was a .300 hitter again. He was seventh in the league with a .319 batting average.

In 1972, Jones shared playing time in left field with John Milner. He also played twenty games at first base. But he didn't play very well there. He had one of his worst seasons. The next season, Milner moved to first base. Jones was back in left field.

In the first game of the 1973 season, Jones hit two home runs. This was against the Philadelphia Phillies. He did it again on September 19, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. This was in a very important series for first place. The next day, Jones was part of a famous play. It's known as the "Ball on the Wall Play." In the 13th inning, Dave Augustine hit what looked like a home run. But the ball hit the top of the left field wall. It bounced right into Jones' glove. He threw the ball to Wayne Garrett. Garrett then threw it home to catcher Ron Hodges. They got the runner out at the plate! After this amazing play, the Mets won the game. This put them very close to first place. Jones played very well at the end of the season. He hit six home runs in the last ten games. This helped the Mets win the pennant. The Mets won their division on the last day of the season. They then surprised everyone by beating the "Big Red Machine" in the 1973 National League Championship Series. Jones had three hits, two RBIs, and a run scored in the game that won the series.

The Mets lost to the Oakland Athletics in seven games in the 1973 World Series. Jones batted .286 in the series. He hit a home run in Game 2. He also scored one of the four runs the Mets got in the 12th inning of their Game 2 win.

Retirement from Baseball

In 1975, Jones was released by the Mets. He was batting .240, mostly as a pinch hitter. He then joined the Chicago White Sox in 1976. He played 13 games with a .200 batting average. After that, he retired from playing baseball.

Cleon Jones was known for having one of the strongest arms in the National League. He had 64 outfield assists in his career. This included ten in both 1966 and 1970.

In 1981, the New York Mets hired Jones. He became a minor-league hitting coach. Jones helped many future Mets stars. One of them was Kevin Mitchell, who played a big part in the 1986 World Series Championship.

Honors and Achievements

Jones in 2019

Cleon Jones was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1991. His .340 batting average in 1969 was a team record for many years. It was only broken in 1998 by John Olerud. Jones is still one of the Mets' all-time leaders. He ranks high in games played, at bats, and hits.

Jones is also a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. He is a member of the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame too.

In June 2012, sports writers and broadcasters chose Jones. They named him the Mets' "All-Time Leftfielder." He said this honor "means a lot to me."

On November 14, 2021, Jones was inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame. This was at a special dinner in Troy, New York. His wife of 57 years, Angela, was with him.

Life After Baseball

In 1999, Cleon Jones appeared as himself on the TV show Everybody Loves Raymond. Several other members of the 1969 Mets were also on the show. The hip-hop group The High & Mighty mention Jones in their song "B-Boy Document '99."

The movie Men in Black 3 has a scene about the 1969 World Series. It mentions Jones and shows him catching the final fly ball. This was the ball hit by Davey Johnson that ended the World Series.

Jones lives in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama. He and his wife, Angela, work to fix up homes. They help senior residents in the Africatown area of Mobile.

Jones' autobiography is called Coming Home: My Amazin' Life with the New York Mets. It was published in August 2022.