Cleon Jones

Cleon Jones (1969)

Cleon Joseph Jones (born August 4, 1942 in Plateau, Alabama) is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who played for the New York Mets from 1963 to 1975. He threw left handed and batted right handed. While with the Mets, he played with childhood friend Tommie Agee . He played for a few weeks with the Chicago White Sox in 1976. His best season was with the so-called "Miracle Mets" of 1969, when he batted .340 (third in the National League), and was selected as an All Star. Also instrumental in 1973 pennant race hitting .260 while the New York Mets won the Eastern Division title on the last day of the season with a paltry .508 winning percentage and went on to upset the mighty "Big Red Machine" en route to a seven game World Series loss to the Oakland A's.

Jones was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1991. His .340 average in 1969 remained a team record until John Olerud batted .354 in 1998. Jones remains among the team's all-time leaders in games played, at bats and hits.

Facts

Caught the final out of the 1969 World Series.
The rap duo High And Mighty mention Jones in their song enitled "B-Boy Document '99." The group has shown a tendency to rap about New York sports figures, and are said to be particularly fond of '69 Mets, of which Jones was a member.
Notably, Jones was one of those rare players who were not primarily pitchers in major league history who threw left-handed but batted right-handed. Other such players include: