Center fielder Adam Jones was a defining player of the Baltimore Orioles in the 2010s. After spending 11 years with the organization, Jones was inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame on Aug. 9. Showalter was on hand for the ceremony.
Jones earned five All-Star nods, four Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger award during his time in Baltimore. Former Orioles manager Buck Showalter looks beyond his accolades, though, heaping praise on the man Jones was away the field and in the clubhouse.
The four-time Manager of the Year characterized baseball as a game of honesty. He appreciated when players gave him unfiltered opinions, which Jones always did.
“I appreciate bluntness, I want to know what you really think,” Showalter said on Glenn Clark Radio Aug. 7. “Adam fed off of that when I would sit down and talk to him about something.”
Jones also quickly proved that he was willing to embrace a leadership role on the team.
“He didn’t run from the responsibility of that. Some people will say, ‘Oh, I’ll be a leader,’ but they don’t want the responsibility of it,” Showalter said. “That’s why they’re so hard to find now. People don’t want to be that guy that has to stand in front of their locker after a game. Adam never shirked it.”
A particularly important moment between Showalter and Jones came in 2010, just a few days into the manager’s tenure. He told Jones that he admired what he was saying, but what he did on the field would outweigh his words.
“I called him in and I said, ‘You say all the right things and I can tell your personality, but … my best players have to play the game right,'” Showalter said. “If you guys are going to [take five seconds to run] down the line and go through the motions sometimes, your words are going to ring hollow … and since that day, he took and ran with it.”
Showalter also recalled an off day at his farm when Jones showed his dedication to the franchise and to building a relationship with his manager.
“We got an off day and I had a little acreage and barn … [Jones] comes up the long driveway in his truck and he’s got his kids with him,” Showalter said. “And he’s over there to see the donkeys, and sit down, talk with the manager on an off day. I just sat down thinking, ‘This is why we’ve got a chance here.'”
The Savannah Bananas played at Camden Yards on Aug. 1 and 2 as part of their Banana Ball World Tour. Former big league players often make brief guest appearances at the games. Jones, Showalter, Nick Markakis and Matt Wieters all made appearances at Camden Yards.
Jones took one at-bat and Showalter coached first base, with both appearances drawing roaring ovations from the sold-out crowd on Aug. 1. Showalter, however, gave the credit for the applause to his former players.
“It’s kind of like a Manager of the Year award … it’s such a reflection of how your team did,” Showalter said. “If there’s a reaction, it’s because of the players.”
For more from Showalter, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles