Detroit Tigers: An ode to Jacoby Jones

The Good on JaCoby Jones in a Detroit Tigers uniform

JaCoby Jones never batted over .268 in a season and posted a .212 batting average with the Detroit Tigers, but he showed flashes of what could have been during various points of his career. One stretch that stands out, in particular, is Jones’s 12-game hitting streak in late May and early June of 2019. After doing some digging, I found a Detroit Free Press article by Anthony French referencing this particular stretch. In the span of 14 games, Jones batted .420 with 4 home runs and 20 RBIs. Until 2021, Jones always seemed to have one similar stretch in him each season, giving the fans hope that he would put it all together for a full season at some point.

In addition to his streaky outbursts from the batter’s box, JaCoby Jones made some stellar catches from his spot in centerfield. All one has to do is go on Twitter and search “Jacoby Jones Catch” to see an abundance of web gems from the outfielder.

Here Jones races back to the wall and takes a long-ball away from future Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre of the Texas Rangers. Once again, plays like this gave the Detroit Tigers’ faithful fans hope that he would pan out into something special.

The Bad on JaCoby Jones in a Detroit Tigers uniform

For a player recently cut by a team that has been meddling towards the bottom of their division for years, it is difficult to separate the bad from the ugly. JaCoby Jones’ tenure in the Olde English D had its fair share of struggle, and one statistic that always stood out to me was his strikeout rate. While Jones would have hot streaks, there was always a potential for him to get sent packing after three strikes. His strikeout rate throughout his six years with the Detroit Tigers was a sky-high 33%. In the meantime, the Major League average during the same time was 22.3%. Striking out 1 in every 3 at-bats is categorized as “bad”, especially paired with a 6% walk rate.

From an analytical standpoint, it would be unjust to expect much more than a 0-2.0 WAR Rating, which is the average rating for a reserve player. Jones posted his best WAR in 2018, at 1.8 Wins Above Replacement. Outside of 2018, Jones had three negative WAR outputs and a 0.5 show in  2020. This type of production will lead the Front Office to make the unfortunate decision to cut a player.

The Ugly of JaCoby Jones in a Detroit Tigers uniform

Let’s be honest, there has been a lot of ugly with regarding the Detroit Tigers as of late. Jacoby Jones has been subject to his fair share over his six-year tenure with the team. His most recent stretch of play embodied “The Ugly”. Through 36 games with the club this season, Jones slashed a paltry .170/.210/.250 and had already racked up a -0.6 WAR. He had 42 strikeouts to just 5 walks. Despite all of this, Jones still flashed his talents at times. One game that stood out was May 4th against the Boston Red Sox, where Jones hit a three-run shot and made a dazzling catch in Center Field.

Throughout his time in a Tigers uniform, Jacoby Jones’ Achilles heel was injuries. In his six seasons, Jones had six stints on the Injured List, including two trips to the 60-Day IL. The most devastating trip was during the 2020 season when the Tigers were in the midst of a six-game winning streak. Jones was the spark plug of the team and they sank to the bottom of the league in his absence.

Despite all of the struggles, Tigers fans must thank Jacoby Jones for his service with the team and his resiliency for sticking with one of the worst teams in baseball over the past six years.

Enjoy this inside the park home run from Jones as his exit gift to the fans.