Tuesday, September 01, 2009

#178 Dalton Jones

#178 Dalton Jones
If you look closely, you can see the manufacturer's seal/logo on the barrel of Dalton Jones' bat (this was also the case for our last card). Do you suppose it's a Louisville Slugger?

Fun facts about Dalton Jones:

-Born in McComb, MS, Dalton was highly sought after as a high school athlete. He was enticed to sign with the Red Sox in 1961 for a $60,000 bonus - partially due to the recruiting efforts of the great Ted Williams, who was his childhood hero.

-Debuted with Boston in 1964 at age 20, playing primarily at second base. Over his career, he would prove his value as a utility player, logging significant time at first, second, and third base and also playing a few games in the outfield and at shortstop.

-Hit .270 in 367 at-bats in his sophomore season.

-Helped the Red Sox win the A.L. pennant in 1967 with a league-best 13 pinch hits. His tenth-inning home run on September 18 allowed the Sox to beat the Tigers and draw into a first-place tie with the boys from Motown.

-Drove in a career-high five runs on September 24, 1967 in an 11-7 win over the Orioles.

-Even though the Cardinals outlasted Boston in the World Series, Jones excelled in defeat, hitting .389 (7-for-18) in the Fall Classic.

-Was traded to Detroit after the 1969 season. Despite playing just six seasons in Beantown, he is still the club's all-time leader in pinch hits with 55.

-In his first season with the Tigers, Dalton had an infamous pinch-hitting appearance on July 9. In the bottom of the seventh, he faced Vicente Romo with the bases loaded and deposited a pitch into the right field overhang for a grand slam...but teammate Don Wert had stayed close to first base to see if the towering fly would be caught, and Jones was called out for passing him. Instead of a grand slam, he was credited with a three-run single!

-Wrapped up his major league career by playing for his idol Ted Williams in Texas in 1972. In nine seasons, he was a .235 hitter (.261 as a pinch hitter) with 91 doubles, 41 home runs, and 237 RBI.

-Post-baseball, he worked for Exxon and spent some time in banking and mutual fund and investment sales. He also saw 17 games of action as a player-coach with the Winter Haven Super Sox of the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. He hit .162...not so bad for a guy in his mid-fifties.
#178 Dalton Jones (back)

2 comments:

  1. My favorite player...never had another. I still wear #3.
    jimmy warburton RI

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  2. I liked this guy. My best friend was named Joe Dalton so in our wiffel ball games he liked to assume his identity. Thats an amazing story about him and Don Wert. Did u realize u can spell Wert on your computer all letters one after another. Used to have this baseball card but sold the completee 65 set for a grand a few years ago. contribution by Justin MacDevitt friend of Bill OReilly

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