This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
BALTIMORE -- Adam Jones stepped off an elevator on the seventh floor of the Camden Yards warehouse on Friday afternoon and quickly began shaking the hands of various members of the Baltimore media. Then -- before answering questions about his life and his baseball career -- the 40-year-old walked up to a window and looked out upon the ballpark.
Two places were in Jones’ line of sight: 1. Center field, his positional home for the majority of his 11-year tenure with the Orioles; 2. Eutaw Street, which houses the Orioles Hall of Fame -- Jones’ new home, as of Saturday.
Prior to Saturday night’s game vs. the A’s, Jones is set to be inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame alongside former outfielder Joe Orsulak (1988-92 in Baltimore) and longtime broadcaster Tom Davis, this year’s Herb Armstrong Award recipient. The trio comprises the 2025 class for the Hall, which was conceived by the Oriole Advocates in 1977.
It’s hard not to label Jones as the class headliner, considering his impact on both the franchise and Baltimore via his play and community efforts. But such an honor was never on the center fielder’s mind while playing for the club from 2008-18.
“Man, all I thought was, ‘I just want to play,’” Jones said. “If you play long enough, do well, they’ll reward you with things, and I didn’t set out for any of this. I just wanted a chance to play baseball, and Baltimore provided that for me.”
Jones came to the Orioles in one of the best trades in team history. On Feb. 8, 2008, they sent left-handed starter Erik Bedard to the Mariners in exchange for Jones, right-hander Chris Tillman, left-hander George Sherrill, righty Kam Mickolio and lefty Tony Butler.
All but Butler reached the Major Leagues in Baltimore. Sherrill spent 1 1/2 seasons as the O’s closer and was an All-Star in 2008. Tillman had a 10-year big league career (all with the Orioles) and was a one-time All-Star (‘13) and three-time Opening Day starter (‘14-16).
And Jones? Well, the kid who was 22 at the time later became a five-time All-Star, a four-time Gold Glover and a one-time Silver Slugger who now ranks among the O’s all-time leaders (since 1954) in hits (fourth with 1,781), home runs (fifth, 263), RBIs (fifth, 866), runs (fifth, 875), doubles (seventh, 305), and games played (eighth, 1,613).
More important to Jones than the individual statistics were the three postseason appearances (2012, ‘14 and ‘16) and the ‘14 American League East championship. He wanted to help restore Baltimore’s rich baseball tradition once established by players like Hall of Famers Cal Ripken Jr. and Brooks Robinson and others, following a 14-year period featuring no playoff berths from 1998-2011 -- and Jones did.
“I always looked at it as, ‘If I play enough games and I play baseball the right way, with my skills, I probably should have pretty good numbers.’ But all I wanted to do was to win,” Jones said. “I learned that from Cal: If you play every day, it’s not going to look pretty. That’s just part of it. But if you play every day, you’re probably going to have good numbers. And if your ultimate goal is to win, you’ll always play the right way. And that’s how I tried to approach the game.”
It was a mindset that rubbed off on teammates as Jones helped set the culture for the mid-2010s Orioles teams. He could keep it loose -- hence the postgame pies to the face he often struck players with during on-field postgame interviews on MASN -- but he also held others accountable as a leader to ensure there would be a successful product.
Chris Davis, the slugging first baseman who was O’s teammates with Jones from 2011-18, enjoyed seeing Nick Markakis (2006-14) get inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame in ‘24, followed by Jones this year, as their era of Orioles baseball continues to be recognized.
“He’s very deserving,” Davis said. “I was locker-mates with him for eight years. We had kids together, they grew up together. So he holds a special place in my heart. But Jonesy’s one of the most talented guys I played with, and I think he really, for a long time, embodied what it meant to be an Oriole.
“I think he was really just a great representation for not only the Orioles, but for the City of Baltimore, with the things that he did with the Boys and Girls Club and just how active he was in the community. And then, obviously, what he did on the field speaks for itself.”
Jones’ MLB tenure ended with the D-backs (2019), then his playing career finished with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan (‘20 and ‘21). But it didn’t take long for Jones to find his way back to the O’s.
On Sept. 15, 2023, Jones signed a ceremonial one-day contract to retire with the Orioles. This year, he rejoined the organization in a professional capacity, getting hired on Jan. 27 to serve as a special advisor to general manager Mike Elias and as a community ambassador.
It’s ensured that Jones -- the new O’s Hall of Famer who splits his time between Spain and Baltimore -- won’t be too far away from baseball anytime soon.
“I love the game of baseball. I love the knowledge that it helps. Obviously, I grew up in this game and I grew up in this city, so to be able to work with Elias and his staff, and obviously, on the community side -- which is even more important in my eyes -- it’s humbling,” Jones said. “The people do remember what I did when I was playing. Now, I’m able to do it in a different capacity with the Orioles. And I’m going to use their money instead of mine.”