Elliott: T12, Day III - Jones, Orr, Pelletier UPDATED
Tournament 12 commissioner Robbie Alomar works with INF Joshua Jones (BBlainville, Que.)
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
Infielder Joshua Jones can handle prime time and the bright lights
His best game ever?
Radio-Canada showed up with cameras and crew to do a Saturday’s Hero feature on Jones when he was a peewee player in July of 2017.
Jones (Blainville, Que.) went off as the scouts like to say.
“I was 3-for-3, a home run to centre in my first at-bat, a single up the middle my second time and the third time a home run the opposite way,” said Jones sitting in the third base camera well at the Rogers Centre Saturday morning.
He considers it his best game ever. And it was caught on film as he starred for the Laurentian Red Sox, coached by Stefan Ciarlo.
Now, where would young Joshua get a quality like that to like the bright lights?
Well, his father is Andruw Jones, the former Atlanta Braves Gold Glove centre fielder.
In Jones’ first World Series game, Oct. 20, 1996, he homered off Andy Pettitte in the second inning at age 19 years to bump Mickey Mantle from the World Series record books as the youngster player to ever homer in World Series history.
An inning later and -- half an hour older -- he went deep again facing reliever Brian Boehringer becoming the youngest to homer in his first two World Series at-bats. Third time up, the bat died with honour, a broken-bat bouncer at Wade Boggs, the bat hitting Boggs in the shins for a hit.
Two homers and five RBIs from a kid who hit .217 in 31 games for the Braves. Jones was signed by the Braves off a work out camp in Curaçao.
Andruw Jones met Melissa Vaillancourt 16 years ago in Montreal and on June 9, 2004, Joshua Jones arrived.
Last year he hit 30 homers and batted .700 earning player of the year honours in the province of Quebec. He will play next summer for the Academy Baseball Canada and coach Rob Fatal.
Two games into the sixth annual Tournament 12 at the Rogers Centre, Jones was 0-for-2 with a walk as the Futures squad lost 7-4 to Quebec and was 0-for-1 with a walk as the Futures beat the Prairies 9-2.
“As far as I can do, my thing is to make my name grow and get drafted,” Joshua said. “The objective is to go in the top five rounds and if not ... either go to a JUCO or a college.
“Like Aaron Judge didn’t get drafted out of high school where he wanted (31st round in 2010), he went to school (Fresno) and three years later went in the first round.”
Jones, who is on the Futures roster and is rooming with RHP Gavin Pringle (Duncan, BC) of the Victoria Eagles and RHP Loreto Siniscalchi (Burnaby, BC) of the Langley Blaze, said he has a 90% average.
Melissa said she spoke to Andruw Jones on Friday “in Atlanta,” on Friday, while Joshua send him hitting tapes.
“My dad gives me lots of hitting tips and they work,” Joshua said. “He told me that my right knee was not turning enough to get through the ball.”
Jones hopes that some day Andruw will join the parade of Braves in Cooperstown: Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, manager Bobby Cox and GM John Schuerholz.
“And this year Chipper,” said Melissa, of third baseman Chipper Jones. Melissa said that mother and son were in Thetford Mines at a tournament so they did not see Chipper’s induction speech.
But Joshua watched the speech later where Chipper lobbied for Andruw to be elected to Cooperstown in the future on You Tube. Andruw received 7.3% of the Baseball Writers of America Association in his first year on the ballot.
* * *
Off the coast of Venezuela sits Curacao. The island is 38 miles long, as narrow as two miles and as wide as eight miles across, with a population of 170,000.
Pirates, not the guys from Pittsburgh, discovered the island. Braves’ international scout Bill Clark was there to sign Jones. The Blue Jays were there too and offered more dough in fact. Same for the Florida Marlins.
Henry Jones, Andruw’s father, said no dice to the higher offer. After all he had given his word and had shaken hands with scouting director Paul Snyder. Plus Andruw wanted to play for the Braves after viewing America’s Team on TBS.
At the Braves’ first tryout camp, Andruw ran a 6.6 60-yard dash. His pop, Henry, 45, ran 7.16.
Jones received a signing bonus of $46,000 US from the Braves. The Jays signed lefty Diegomar Markwell, a distant relative, for $705,000, at the time a club record for a non-drafted player.
Andruw Jones, 19, knocks Mickey Mantle from the Worle Series record books with a home run in his first at-bat against LHP Andy Pettitte.
* * *
Looking back on teenager Andruw Jones’ night in the city that never sleeps.
“See you later Mickey Mantle,” we remember Braves outfielder Luis Polonia telling us. “Andruw hit the first home run, sat down beside me and asked ‘What’s the record for most home runs in a World Series game?’ I said three and then he homered again.
“He plays like he has been here for 10 years.”
When Jones was promoted in 1996, after 66 games at class-A Durham, 38 at double-A Greenville and 12 at triple-A Richmond, Synder compared him to being the best prospect he had seen since Ken Griffey, Jr.
As a point of reference and to illustrate how Jones has come along so quickly, we asked several Braves that night what exactly they were doing when they were 19.
3B Terry Pendleton: “I was at Oxnard junior college trying to get a team to look at me.”
1B Fred McGriff: “I was at Class-A Florence, S.C.”
RP Mark Wohlers: “I was in the Instructional League after being sent down from Class-A,”
“Class-A Madison Wisconsin,” Luis Polonia said.
“Class-D Tampa and ... struggling,” first-base coach Pat Corrales said.
“Class-B Salem, worrying if I’d ever get a class-A contract,” manager Bobby Cox said.
In 2005 Anndruw led the National League with 128 RBIs and 51 home runs, surpassing the Braves franchise record of 47 long balls that was held by Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Eddie Matthews.
No one is asking or demanding that Joshua Jones be the same as his father. But for a 14-year-old his first few baseball steps have been in the right direction.
* * *
Peter Orr celebraates as he scores the game winner as Canada beats Team USA in extras in Ajax to win gold in the Pan Ams.
Braves manager backer: Peter Orr (Newmarket, Ont.) is a fan of Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker.
“He was the manager and the only reason I made the team in 2001 (class-A Myrtle Beach), he stuck up for me and was the only reason I made the team in 2002 (class-A Greenville) and again in 2003 (Greenville),” said Orr in his self-deprecating manner.
Orr, who aalso had Hall of Fame manager Boobby Cox in his corner too, played parts of eight seasons with the Braves, Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies.
Now, Orr (Newmarket, Ont.) is a Milwaukee Brewers scout is off to Atlanta to advance scout the Braves in case the Brewers meet them in post-season play.
Some people call him Claude, some call him Mr. Pelletier, but this fall he will be known as Hall of Famer Claude Pelletier.
HOF Hats off to Claude: Legendary New York Mets scout Claude Pelletier (Ste-Lezard, Que.) will be inducted into the Quebec Baseball Hall of Fame this fall. Pelletier has scouted for the Los Angeles Dodgers, signing former Cy young award winner Eric Gagne, and for the Mets.
He is so respected that Mets scouting dicrctor Marc Tramuta tells his scouts at draft time “Let’s go draft a Canadian, so we can move Claude up the Canadian Baseball Network’s top 100 list.”