After more than 20 years at the major league level as both a manager and player, Lynn Jones ’74 returned to Thiel College as a volunteer assistant baseball coach prior to the 2013 season. Jones was inducted into the Thiel College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987.
Jones, the second Tomcat to be drafted and the first to reach the major leagues, was drafted in the 10th round of the 1974 MLB draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He reached the big leagues with the Detroit Tigers on April 13, 1979, going 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in his debut in center field, a 5-4 loss to the Texas Rangers.
He played for eight seasons, making just eight errors in the outfield while compiling six double plays - including 1981 when he led the American League in double plays turned by a right fielder (2). He collected 239 hits while playing for the Tigers and Royals, and went 2-for-3 with a double and a triple in six games in the 1985 World Series against St. Louis, helping Kansas City win their first World Series championship.
He began coaching in 1990, becoming the first base coach for the Kansas City Royals. He spent the next nine seasons as the manager of several minor league clubs, compiling an overall record of 555-630 (.468) while reaching the postseason twice (1995, 1997) with the Kane County Cougars of the Midwest League, a Florida Marlins affiliate. Jones was particularly successful in his stint with the Cougars, as he is second all-time for managerial wins with 275 and was a part of the Marlins organization in 1997 when they won their first World Series.
Jones was “called up” to the big leagues once again in 2001, joining the then-Florida Marlins as their first base coach. A year later, he returned to the minor league level as the manager of the Macon Braves for the 2002 season before joining the Boston Red Sox in 2003. During his three seasons with the Red Sox, Jones coached the outfielders, was the base running coach and was the first base coach in 2004, when the Red Sox broke the “Curse of the Bambino” and won the World Series for the first time in 86 years.
In 2006, Jones rejoined the team who drafted him out of Thiel in ’74, the Cincinnati Reds for the 2006 and 2007 seasons as the outfield/base running roving instructor before spending three seasons with the Atlanta Braves in the same capacity.
“Lynn brings a wealth of big league experience and baseball knowledge not only to our team, but our coaching staff as well,” head baseball coach Joe Schaly said.
