Holy Toledo Sports Edition
Behind the scenes stories from the Toledo Mud Hens, Toledo Walleye, and Hensville that spotlight the people, partnerships, and impact shaping the Glass City.
Holy Toledo Sports Edition
#013 Gary Jones - Toledo Mud Hens
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Gary Jones joins host, Brad Rieger, to talk about his career that led him to the manager of the Toledo Mud Hens and even the hometown field named after him!
Well, hello everyone. Thank you for tuning in. Today our guest is the manager of the Foodle Munhens, Gary Jones. And Gary has been managing and coaching for over 35 years, and he's had tremendous accomplishments. He's been, he won four league titles as a minor league coach, and he was named manager of the year five times. And so during this conversation, he uh shares about his background growing up in uh Henderson, Texas. Um, a lot on his coaching philosophy, and a lot of the things that he shared really uh were impactful. And then he talks about player development, which is what he's known for, uh being a good uh instructor and a good teacher and a good uh molder of players, getting them ready for the next level. And lastly, he shares on numerous occasions what really matters to him the most. Well, Coach Jones, welcome to the program. And I know we're right in the middle of a pretty intense homestead, and your days are really structured. Uh, so we really appreciate you carving some time out so we can sit down and just get to know you a little bit better. Okay, no problem. I'm I'm I'm good to go. You're in. You're good, you're good to go? I'm good to go. All right, so let's talk about your signature look, the toothpick. Okay. Tell us um how, when, and why that became part of your persona.
SPEAKER_01Well, it started like years ago, like in 95 or 96 or something like that. I I was a big sunflower seed eater. I kept them in my back pocket. I was coached third base. But for some reason it started making me sick. So I got allergic to them. Okay. And then I started trying to, you know, do the gum thing, the chewing the gum and that kind of thing. And I would always bite my lip, bite my tongue, and you know, blood be everywhere else. I was like, okay, I'm gonna get rid of that. Then that's how the toothpicks started. So I never dipped or chewed. So the toothpicks started from uh basically me getting allergic to sunflower seeds. Is it always on the left side of the mouth?
SPEAKER_00Yes. That's okay. How many toothpicks a day do you go through? Normally one, maybe two. Wow. Yeah, it's normally just the one. All right, so I'm gonna share a pick uh toothpick story um that ties in here. It might not be your favorite memory, but it ties in, and that was when you're with the Cubs, third base coach, I think it was 2015 in July, and uh you got hit with a line drive. It was a bullet, and you tried to get out of the way, you lifted your arm, you got smoked in the elbow, and when you got hit, you went face down, right? And you didn't move.
SPEAKER_02Gary Jones, the third base coach.
SPEAKER_00And so the Cubs trainer jumps over the Dugano fence, he sprints out to you, Joe Madden, the manager, comes out, got the umpire over you. The uh everyone at Wrigley just goes quiet. Because it looked not great at that point, because you were laying face down. Uh I forget who the banner was, but he took a knee. The guy in the on the own deck took a knee.
SPEAKER_02Nowhere for him to go. No, it looked like he was supposed to move into the bottom.
SPEAKER_00Um, so the trainer worked on you for a little bit, then he flipped you over, talked to you some more, and he eventually snatched up. And when they snatch you up, the fans clapped a little bit. And then he and Madden uh helped you up, and they talked to you, and when they helped you up, the place erupted, right? And then the trainer went back, and then it was just you and Madden, and you stayed in the game. So after the game, one of the at the presser, one of the reporters asked Madden, hey, how's Coach Jones doing? They said, Oh, he's great, man. I'm really happy he wasn't hurt bad and he could stay in the game. I said, but what impressed him, what impressed me was that toothpick stayed in his mouth. If you look at that video when uh the trader sat you up, the toothpick was still in place. So that's that's impressive.
SPEAKER_01Well, you know, uh uh side story to that. The hitter was uh Addison Russell. Okay. And so, you know, the next day he was asking me how it was. Was everything okay? I said, I'm fine, bro. I'm fine. I said, You you couldn't hit me, you couldn't even hit me hard enough to knock the toothpick out of me. He looked pretty shaky. So he looked pretty shaky. But uh, you know, it was all good. I mean, uh uh uh, you know, I got my elbow up, got my arm up, hit me on the elbow here a little bit, a little swollen, but because if you didn't do that, it would have hit you in the middle of the chest. Yeah, it would have hit me. I mean, I was afraid it was gonna hit me in like my uh facial area. Yeah. So so uh, but you know, it's one of those, one of those deal that goes with the territory, man. You know, it's happened, and and uh I'm not the first person it's happened to, so probably wouldn't won't be the last.
SPEAKER_00Well you pop right back up and continued out and that toothpick stated. So that uh you're um from Henderson, Texas, which is the eastern part of Texas, right? Not too far from Tyler, not too far from Shreveport, Louisiana, right? Exactly. Give us a paint us a picture of what it was like growing up in Henderson. Uh well, I mean And you still live there, and it's still home based.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, my wife and I, we we still live there. We raised two daughters there, and uh uh uh so born and raised there in Henderson, I mean it's a small town, you know, 12,000, 16,000 people, and uh, you know, one high school, yeah. Uh one one junior high, you know, and I think now they may have a private school that's that's there. Uh, but uh, you know, just being raised there in that in that atmosphere, in that culture, uh, it's kind of laid back, easy going. Uh, you know, so I've never really been a big city person, you know. Uh I'm not a big, big city, city life type guy. So I I prefer the small, small, uh uh, quiet, you know, country towns. Everybody tells me I'm from the country, all of these guys.
SPEAKER_00So, so, but uh, I'm okay with it. And you're used to the heat right now as we're talking, and in the homestand, it's almost 100 degree temperature, but that's nothing for you, probably.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, this is a cool day in Texas, man. You know what I'm saying? This this is everybody's everybody's just you know uh having a hard time with it. But hey, in East Texas where I'm from right now, hey, they would love to have a day this cool.
SPEAKER_00All right, in previous conversations about your background, you've mentioned two places, Yates Park and I'm Whipperwolf Street. Whipperwheel street. What about those two places were formative for you? Well, Whipperwheel, that's where I grew up. Okay.
SPEAKER_01Well, that's the street I grew up on. Uh I learned a lot of what I'm about and what I do now from some of the older guys that I grew up on the street with, you know, the Terries, the Sanders, uh, the Millers, the Vincons, uh, the Maddoxes, uh, Coopers, I mean, Tatums. There's a lot of uh uh there was a lot of athletes on that street. And, you know, I was I was uh always in the mix with them. And a lot of times, you know, when we was out, you know, playing basketball, baseball, football, whatever, you know, I was playing with older guys. Right. And so and to this day, some of those older guys are still, you know, in Henderson. And I talk to them quite often. So, you know, we we we we talk about you know that street quite a bit. It's changed quite a bit now, but uh we talk about it. You know, my the church I goes to is on that street. So and I still go to the same church with some of those same guys. And and and and we know we had our own little uh park, not necessarily a park, but it was a field where we did everything. We played baseball on the on the field, we played football there, played basketball there. So whatever we wanted to do, we did it on that field. And uh, you know, my dad was our baseball coach growing up as we was little, and we practiced right there on that field. And Yates Park was like the park where we would go and play, you know, little league, right? Uh the little league games and pony league games and things like that. So, you know, we practice on whoopee wheel, but when when it was time to go play games, play the scheduled games, we would go to Yates Park. Yeah, and to this day, Yates Park still exists. And so, you know, it's just just just fun memories to talk about. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00What role did your dad have in your overall development as uh as an athlete?
SPEAKER_01Uh I almost say quite a bit. I mean, you know, he was the type of guy that if you didn't go out to play to win, you know, he would you would hear it. So he had some commet competitive fire. Yeah. I we my brother and I, we grew up uh in a baseball family, basically. My dad played baseball, his brother played, his brothers played baseball, his my grandfathers played baseball. So we grew up, you know, going to watch them play, you know, on weekends and things like that. So it was just a part of you know what we did. So in high school, as we uh uh grew up and you know got to high school, we played, we played baseball, we played basketball, we played foot, we did it all, uh ran track, we did everything. So so but baseball was you know kind of our fresh love. Right. And that's that's that's what we what we did. So I kind of knew that this is kind of what the direction I wanted to take, you know, in life, and uh, you know, been lucky enough where it's worked out. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh Henderson High School, you were a four-sport athlete. Uh obviously baseball. What position did you play basketball? Uh point guard. Point guard. So you dished it out, you ran the offense. Right offense, yeah.
SPEAKER_01How about football? What position? Uh I played running back, but my senior I played quarterback. We ran we ran the old veer. So my senior year, I moved to quarterback. And uh, you know, one of the things about that is my brother was a running back at the time. So he's got to be. So you got the handle too? I got the hand the ball off to him as well. So, but I played uh uh quarterback, my senior year. Up until that point, I'd always played running back. Wow. And then track what what was your event? I ran the hundred. What's your what's your best hundred time? Oh back then it was a hundred-yard dash. So it wasn't a meters, it was a hundred-yard dash. So probably somewhere around, I'm gonna say 10-7, 10 five, 10-8, something like that.
SPEAKER_00So it explains the base stealing um ability. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh man. So um what did that being a four-speed uh four-sport athlete in high school, what did that do for your, I guess, confidence or character development?
SPEAKER_01Well, I think it it kept a competitive spirit in me. But more importantly, I think what it did, it uh allowed me to understand who I was, who I am as an athlete and as a competitor. Uh you know, I believe that, you know, nowadays these uh kids specialize in you know one sport type of thing. Personally, I believe that uh the m the more uh uh athletics he can uh play in, football, basketball, baseball, track, and you don't get guys that do it do that for uh sport thing anymore. But you know, when you can compete and come and and and play different sports, I think it helps the other sports. Because now you're learning your body, you're learning how to control your body, you're learning, you know, to use parts of your body that maybe you don't norm you wouldn't normally use if you're just playing in the one sport. So I think they all tie in together, to be honest with you. So I I I I kind of frown when our hero kids in high school that are really, really good athletes only commit to playing football, only commit to playing basketball, only commit to playing baseball. So I would like to see our athletes be well-rounded. And I think by being able to compete in the different uh sports in high school, you know, you learn a little bit about yourself as far as you know what you're capable of doing and what you're not capable of doing, how deep, uh how mentally prepared you can get yourself, you know. Uh uh, and they're life lessons, you know, and it teaches you that hey, it's not always gonna be uh like you want it to be. You got to go through some adversity. You know, you show me an athlete that hadn't gone through adversity, and I show you an athlete that probably hadn't been very successful.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Still in your childhood days, what what teams did you cheer for, and who were your sports heroes?
SPEAKER_01Uh uh football-wise, I was a big Houston Allers fan. Wow. Earl Campbell, remember Dan Pastorini, you know, or those guys, big white shoes, Johnson. So I was a big uh, I was a big uh Houston Allers fan. Basketball-wise, I was I've always been a Lakers fan. Because of Magic Johnson. I was a big Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, James Worthy. Great teams. You know, I was I was I was I was a fan of fan of that. And then in football, I like to tease all the guys back home who are all Dallas Cowboy fans. And uh I like to tell them in football, and when people ask me, without Cowboy fans, I said, nope. They said, Who's your team? I said, anybody that played the Cowboys. But really, I was a I was a big uh uh a Houston Otto fan. And when it came to baseball, I was a Houston Astros fan. Who'd you like on the Astros? I mean, you know, back then you you know you had uh I remember going to watch the Toy Cannon and Jimmy Wynne play. You know, I remember watching uh uh Cesar Sardano, uh Enos Cabell, uh, you know, Jose Cruz Jr., Art Howe, uh little Nolan Ryan in there. Nolan Ryan, J.R. Richard, yeah, uh Scott, you know, I had all those guys. So those were some, you know, uh you had Terry Poole, uh I think Ashby, uh Reynolds. So I mean, you know, yeah, I was I grew up on Houston Astro. That's when they played in the Astrodome.
SPEAKER_00Right, yeah. Right. Not a great venue for a ball game, right?
SPEAKER_01Uh it was all right. At that point, it was like what, the eighth wonder of the world? Yeah, it was. So I mean, at that point, it was kind of when they first built it. I think it was like the state of the art.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_01You know, but then now you look back on it, that turf is like probably like this, is it as hard as this floor here? Right. But you know, they've evolved nowadays. You know, turf is better, and even the domes that they've built are much better and nicer. But at the time, the astronaut was like, I mean, you know, being named eighth wonder the world, that's saying something. It's pretty good props, yeah.
SPEAKER_00All right, let's stay in Henderson, Texas. All right, let's stay there. Uh, the Gary Jones Feel the Dreams complex. You are um very accomplished. Um, you've had a lot of accolades, but having your hometown name a sports complex in your honor, that had to be a thrill.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, you know, it was unexpected. Uh and that was recent. That was within the last six or eight months. This I think this was in like November, yeah. This past November. So uh it it it it didn't I wasn't expecting it at all. They called me up and asked me about it, and you know, uh what what do you say when when uh uh committee calls you say, hey, did we want to honor you uh uh in this way? So it was uh it was an honor. And you know, the funny thing about it, uh I'm pretty private guy. I try to, you know, let stay under under the radar. And so I was actually going to uh uh not tell anybody, just go out there for the ribbon cutting and then that was it. Do the Irish fade and but you know, in today's world with social media, you know, boom, it got out, and next thing you know, you know, there was a a crowd of people from from the community and stuff there to shoulder support. So so it was nice. It was nice, yeah. You know, family was there.
SPEAKER_00So it was it was it was it was nice. What a great celebration for uh who you are as a ball player, coach, and person. So really happy for you and your family. All right, I'm gonna make an observation about a time in your life from 18 years old to when you're 22. Okay. So you graduate from Henderson High, had a good baseball career, no scholarship offer. Your high school coach uh connects with uh the coach at Paris Junior College and gets you a walk-on. Larry Click. You make Larry Clee was your high school coach?
SPEAKER_01Larry Click was the coach at uh Paris Junior College, and my high school coach was I would call him Skip, Skip Templin. Okay, but yeah.
SPEAKER_00Well those two connected, you got uh you got a tryout, you made the team, of course, and you got on a scholarship.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_00Then after a while, you uh walked on and tried out at Arkansas, University of Arkansas, right? Made the team, eventually out on the scholarship, right? Right, had a good career, had a real solid career at Arkansas. Time for the draft. You didn't get drafted, but obviously the the Cubs draft you as a as a as a free agent. So it seems like in that time frame, coach, people underestimated you in some ways. And you always had to prove yourself, and when you give an opportunity, you did. How did that like kind of that walk-on experience, how did that um uh impact you as a player, and probably more importantly, how you coach and how you interact with players now? Because you had that experience at that 18 to 22 year old.
SPEAKER_03Right, right.
SPEAKER_00You had to overcome some things. Right, right.
SPEAKER_01Well, you know, in high school I I I weighed one, you know, 65, maybe one seventy. So I was always told I was too small. Uh, you know, he's a good athlete, he got some quickness, he got some speed, but yeah, you know, he's too small. So, you know, who said that? Scouts? Scouts, yeah. Other some some college coaches. Uh so you know, I was lucky enough to be able to to uh I was just wanting the opportunity. I was just looking for an opportunity anywhere.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_01And you know, I was lucky enough to be able to go to Paris Junior College, walk on, and like you said, you know, made the team, ended up getting a scholarship, uh, played there two years, and you know, when my time was up there, you know, now they had this is when they had the old Southwest Conference. You know, so been years ago. Yes. And uh so you know, I went and visited, you know, some of those schools, TCU and AM and Texas, and you know, my dad and I drove up to Arkansas, and when I saw the field at Arkansas, not the stadium they have now, but it's the older field, but it was turf. And when I saw the turf, I was like, okay, I think this will be my best fit because of the turf, and because I thought my game would translate to being on turf. Right. You know, speed game, that type of thing. So, you know, I ended up uh uh walking on at Arkansas, made the team, you know, uh we had a big tryout, I made the team. And never a doubt. Uh, you know, I I in my mind I didn't think it was gonna be a doubt, but you know, you still have to go out and prove it. And so I ended up making the team, ended up being a starting center fielder, and uh, you know, uh, you know, did did pretty well uh that year, and ended up going to uh play in the Shenandoah Valley League, Waynesboro, Virginia. And that's where uh you know I signed with the Cubs after the draft. A scout by the name of Gary Nichols signed me.
SPEAKER_00So and and coach, you had eight solid seasons in the minors, and you you had some really noteworthy stats. You made you all-star, a couple all-star teams, you had a 283 lifetime batting average, you had an incredible on-base percentage. The your walk strikeout ratio was insane, which means you really you really knew the strike zone. And then when you got on base, you stole bases all the time. So that's pretty, pretty significant. If you had to, if you think back of those eight years, is there a story that kind of captures your playing days? Or another way to say it is is there a a game or a moment that meant the most to you during those eight years?
SPEAKER_01Uh I don't know. I mean, it's kind of hard to look back on. I mean, I enjoyed my time at each stop. Uh you know, I know Huntsville, Alabama was a was a was a good time. I had had fun playing there that year, '86, I believe it was. Uh had fun playing it had, you know, in Tacoma at 87, 88. But, you know, you look back on it, you know, I I I I I really enjoyed my early time with the Cubs, I think, coming up in that era.
SPEAKER_00There was Cubs and the A's, right? Yeah. Organization.
SPEAKER_01You know, I started with the Cubs and got traded to the A's. Yeah. But with the Cubs, they had drafted a lot of speed at the time. And so I was just one of a few guys on our on those two or three teams I played with the Cubs that could run. I mean, right. We had a number of guys that had 30, 40 stolen bases on every team. So it was just like, hey, we get on, we're going. It was just that was just part of the DNA that the Cubs was trying to trying to uh uh uh do at that particular time. So uh you do and to this day I still have lasting friendships from some of those guys on the team, you know, guys like Tony Woods, Sean Dunstan, Damon Foremar, Orlando Rillions, all these guys, you know, we don't talk very much, but I consider those guys a big part of you know my uh uh developing to be a uh a winner, you know, in uh in uh baseball.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. When was the opportunity or what led you into coaching?
SPEAKER_01Uh well, I think I always knew that I wanted to, you know, manage. And uh, you know, of course, my goal was always to manage in the big leagues. Of course, you know, it's not gonna happen. I'm I'm I'm at ease and I'm at peace with that. But uh I always knew when I finished playing that I wanted to manage. And so my second year in Tacoma, in fact, after the 88th season, the manager who was Brad Fisher at the time, uh called me into the office and asked me, you know, uh, said, hey, the organization, we're not gonna bring you back, but you know, we're just gonna go younger at the AAA level next year. So they asked me if I'll be interested in uh staying in the organization as a manager and uh just something I'd be interested in doing. So you know that's how that's how I started. But I mean, when they asked me, I knew I wanted I knew I was gonna do it because I mean I knew it was something I wanted I wanted to do, and I didn't want to start bouncing around from organization to organization.
SPEAKER_00In that first opportunity, you were young, you were 29. Yeah. And it was what, the rookie league or the yeah, the rookie league in in uh Arizona.
SPEAKER_01Okay, you were barely older than the players. Yeah, some of those players, I, you know, I was probably you know seven, eight years older than most of those guys, uh maybe 10 years at that level, because those guys at that level were like 18, 20 years old. So yeah, yeah, I was I started young, but I had good good uh mentors as far as uh learning, uh taking that next step to manage. I had mentors like Keith Libman, Brad Fisher, Carl Keel, Harvey Darthman, uh uh Ron Plaza, all of these names. I'm sure some of the older guys, you know, that have been around know some of these names, but you know, none of these guys that that today know any of these. Most of these guys they don't know. But all of those guys was a big influence as far as me molding me as far as uh me learning how to manage not only a game, but managing people as well. Yeah. Because, you know, part of managing is managing people. Right. And and being, you know, open-minded as far as you know, being able to communicate with them. Everybody's a little different.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Let me summarize your your coaching and please fill in anything I miss here. So let's just round it up to say 35 years in coaching, maybe a little bit more. Uh 18 years as manager in the minor leagues with the Mud Hens now, this will make it 19, correct? Um during that those 18 years, you won four league championships, and you were named manager of the year five times. On the uh Major League Baseball side, you have roughly 17 years in with the Cubs, the A's, Padres, Red Sox, and primary first base coach, third base coach, and instructional coach. So you your resume is pretty legit. Um what leadership principles, coach, kind of have anchored your coaching style and you can has contributed to your success as a manager?
SPEAKER_01Uh I would say in the really one word or two words, if you no shortcuts. Because uh I believe that you know being detailed and and and and and you know being well prepared uh prepares you for any situation. Right. So my thing is don't take shortcuts. Because normally my experience tells me when you take shortcuts, it may work for a short while. Yeah, but it's it it doesn't work for the long haul.
SPEAKER_00That leadership principle can be applied to about everything.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, so you know, no shortcuts, cross all the T's, dot all the highs. Make sure you are prepared. One of my biggest things is making sure I'm prepared every day. So when I go out between the lines, the game starts, that nothing surprises me.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And, you know, uh uh uh take that a step further. I have the responsibility to be be prepared because now I'm leading these young men into, you know, that day, that day's work. So I have to make sure, you know, uh that I'm prepared, that I'm organized, and kind of uh be a leader to those guys, letting them know, hey, this is the way you go about your business to prepare on a daily basis and let the end result be the end result. Once you are prepared, now you can go out and you can execute your game plan, and at the end of the day, you know, it's either gonna be a W or it's gonna be an L.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But if it's not a W, if it's an L, you still can feel good about yourself knowing that you were prepared for the day. It doesn't mean, you know, just because you're prepared and you execute doesn't always lead to W's. Sometimes you can be prepared, you can do everything right, and it's still an L. You know, so that's my biggest thing, you know, because let's face it, you know, I cut my teeth in player development. I mean, I've been in player development most of my life. And so I'm all about getting guys better. Player development, the job is to get these guys ready for the for the big leagues, for the major leagues. In this case, the Detroit Tigers. That's that's that's the job. And so, you know, everybody talks about, hey, we want to develop players for Detroit. We want to develop players for the major leagues, and that's fine, and then that's great. But I always like to take it a step further. Let's develop winning players for the organization. Yeah. Because there's a difference in developing players and developing winning players. What's that difference? Where do you see the difference? The difference is winning players don't take shortcuts. Yeah. Winning players are prepared every day. Winning players know how to go out and do the small things that's going to help you win ballgames. Yeah. You know, uh, you show me a team that doesn't win. You show me a team that wins, and I show you most of the time a team that do a lot of the little things correct. They probably pitch well, they probably play good defense, they probably uh uh uh have good at-bats. You know, they probably get runners in from third base less than two outs. Uh they know how to uh manipulate the barrel, maybe to get a two-out knock. Pitchers probably throw strikes, uh defense, defense defenders make the routine plays. So, you know, the all of those things uh uh go into winning the game, and all of those things go into developing these players. But you cannot put the the cart before the heart, so to speak. You have to be prepared, you have to uh understand who you are as a player, we have to understand who we are as staff members, and so you have to go out and and and and lead these young men and not worry about the wins and losses during the battle. Because you just go out and you play and you do the things the right way. And at the end of the night, let the wins and losses take care of themselves.
SPEAKER_00Let's stay with the development part because you're known for developing players and then you're just a really great instructor. Uh what's the best way to give feedback to a player?
SPEAKER_01Uh you got to gain the trust. You know, uh uh and gaining the trust is not always about, you know, how how good a player they are, you know, what they can do on the field. Gaining the trust is just treating them like men and having them understand and know that hey, you care about them as individuals. You know, but you talk to them about their families, about where they're from. You know, sometimes, you know, uh we are spending so much time with these, with these players till, you know, hey, it's not always about baseball. You can talk about life experiences. You can talk about, hey, what do you like to do in the house season? You know, learn a little bit about their families, learn a little bit about what they like to do. But to answer your question, it's all about trust. You have to gain a player's trust so that he trusts that you have his best interest at heart. And that's the biggest thing, gaining their trust.
SPEAKER_00What um piece of advice or coaching up do you find that young prospects need to hear, just in general? Uh and everyone's different, I get it. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01I I would say uh I have a s I have a saying that I tell people all the time you have to be able to handle the failure of this game in order to be successful. And what does that mean? That means especially position players. The guys in the hall of fame, most of those guys, you know, successful three out of ten times, or you know, two and a half to three out of ten times. Well, I look at it the other way. I mean, they failed seven, seven, seven and a half times. Now, how do you handle that failure? Right. That's the difference, in my opinion. Can a guy handle the failure of this game and still be successful? And we've seen, we've we've seen a lot of players that very talented, label came miss, and they just could not deal with the failure of not getting a hit every time. They couldn't deal with going up and saying, okay, you know, uh, I had four at bats tonight, I hit the ball hard four times, but I'm over four. They couldn't deal with it. So if you cannot deal with the failure of this game, it's gonna be tough on you. It's a grind, you better be able to handle it. Yeah. It's a grind. And on the flip side, you know, we've seen guys that weren't, were not as talented as some other guys, and they're going and end up having 10, 15 year major league careers. Why? Because mentally, they're able to stay in tune and they're able to handle that failure with the understanding of knowing, hey, you know, I did everything right, it just wasn't successful. And wasn't successful from a from a number standpoint. You can do it right, you can go off a forward and and be successful. You can have a uh a good at-bat and strike out. Yeah, but it's all about the way you go about it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. How do you um how do you go about when there is that uh downside for the team and also for a player? How do you pick them back up?
SPEAKER_01I think, I think, see, I think that all plays into hand of being uh uh prepared and going about your day in a kind of in a positive manner. Yeah, you know, crossing the T's, dotting the I's, uh not not wearing every loss like it's it's it's the end of the day. There'll be another game. You got you got another game. Because, you know, we have to understand that you can play well and lose that night. Yeah. You know, because personally, I sleep well at night knowing that I did everything I could that day to prepare these guys to go out and be successful. And I and so I I pride myself in knowing that I'm prepared. Uh uh I cross the T's, I dot the I's, you know, I communicate with the guys as far as, hey, this is how we want to do it, you know, and I've been lucky enough to have a few years at the Major League level. So I have some experiences to draw back on, to help these guys understand and know, hey, this is what it's gonna take to get it to the next level, play at the next level, be successful at the next level. And uh, you know, uh, so I just try to pass that along, really. Yeah. And and, you know, you can you can talk to your blue in the face sometimes, kind of like talking to your kids, you know. Uh but sometimes they don't believe it until they're actually put in that situation. Yeah. But they'll always draw back on those conversations, I believe. Just like your kids. Yeah, they'll always draw back to those conversations.
SPEAKER_00Um, before we talk about the Mud Hens, let's talk about the Chicago Cubs. So you're there for three years, and besides dodging line drives, you were part of the 2016 championship team. What about that championship season do you value the most? Uh the group.
SPEAKER_01You know, that that that that core that group. I mean, the staff, the coaching staff, the players. I mean, you look at that team and and you saw it coming. You know, with with the with that grease. But that year was it was almost like no matter what adversity those guys went through, they were going to find a way to get it done. You know, I mean, you got leaders like Anthony Rizzo, you know, Ben Zobris, uh Dexter Fowler, Kyle Schwaber, Chris Bryant, Javi Baez. I mean, uh Addison Russell was on the team, you know, and then Jason Haywood, you know. So, so John Lester, Lackey, Kyle Hendricks, uh Strong Cast. Went out and got Chapman, had Rondone, Stroke. I mean, I know I'm missing David Ross, uh, Montero, well, uh Wilson Contreras. I mean, it was a strong group, and and there was a lot of different personalities with that group. So I think that it was just, you know, a group that grew together. Oh, awesome. Start, they cared about one another, they had fun together, and they just went out and played their tails up. I mean, it was it was it was literally uh an honor to be a part of that group. What did you learn from Madden? Uh probably thinking outside the box a little bit. Yeah, yeah. If that makes sense. Yes. Uh, because, you know, Madden Joe, you know, he would come to me and give me a couple of situations that might happen in the game that night. And I would be like, okay. And sure enough, you know, it may not happen that night, but it might happen a couple other nights. You know, he that was, I mean, I just a quick story. He he told me we had a hitter, I'm not gonna call his name, but we had a hitter that, you know, hit a lot of ground balls. And so Joe had given me the heads up, hey, if we have the bases loaded and one out, don't be surprised if I give you the hit and run with this guy. No fact. Okay. Basically loaded. Like a like a 3-1 count. He was like, hey, I'm gonna put the guys in motion. That's right. Okay, because this guy put the ball in place, hand-eye coordination was really good. He would put the ball in play, but a lot of times he would chase a little bit and the ball would be on the ground and he'd end up a plate. So sure enough, we get in the game a couple of nights later, and that situation comes up, and the guy's up to the plate. I'm like, oh boy, here we go, here we go. Luckily, you know, it we end up not having to put it on because something happened. But, you know, Joe was a guy that he did think outside the box a little bit. And then, you know, it it got me to thinking, even with the years I already had in the game, it got me to thinking a little bit about situations and some of the things you can do, and you know, and and and the and the play that really stood out to me that he probably taught me. I mean, I knew about the play, but he probably taught me about the safety squeeze, uh uh, especially with runners at first and third, about that play. Uh, and we practiced it. And, you know, this it's it's it's it was a play that if you execute it right, it's really undefendable. It's undefendable, yeah. You know, it's right. You're gonna score a run if you execute it.
SPEAKER_00Right. Yeah, so so coach, you were um named the Mud Hens coach at the end of 2021 for the 2022 season. Unfortunately, there's a death on A.J. Hinn's staff, um, and he calls you to the Tigers and you spend four years as the first base coach there and also instructional uh coach. Um after that, well, just two, let's let's go to that present day. Two months ago, let's just say you were, would you be accurate to say you were semi-retired? Is that accurate? My daughter says I was practicing retirement. You're pre- okay, that's a good term. That's a I like that. So you get a call from the Tigers saying, hey, we got to make a change. Uh we we want you in Toledo. What was your initial reaction to that? I couldn't believe it.
SPEAKER_01I was I was at ease and I was at peace with what I had done in the game, how I how my how my career had gone. And so in my mind, I was done. I was actually, I was my daughter's I was practicing retirement, but I was actually retired. Right. I I was in that mentality. And so when they called me, uh uh Ryan Garko called and, you know, Jonesy, what are you doing? And I was like, Well, I'm in my backyard cleaning fish right now. Got back from fishing. Yeah, he was like, You at home? I was like, Yeah. He said, Well, I might have something for you. And that's that's how it all started. And I mean, it caught me off guard totally.
SPEAKER_00And uh it went quick though.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it caught me off guard, it went quick. You know, I got a couple of days later, I got back with him, told him I would I would do it, and you know, here I am.
SPEAKER_00And so um starting in spring training with the team is one thing, but joining the team before once the season started, there's some challenges with that. So when you arrived here less than two months ago, what was your first, what was your focus?
SPEAKER_01Well, my focus was uh not coming in like you know, I'm like taking over. Right. You know, uh uh I uh luckily, I mean, this here in Toledo, great staff. When you start talking about the staff that's here in Toledo, I mean I have a lot of respect for these guys. Probably one of the best staffs I've ever worked with in my in my uh career, uh, you know, with Bachler and and and Hessman and then Frankie and Jimmy, you know, the medical staff with Thurst and Alex and Phil and you know, go on. I mean, I don't know, I'm calling names and I'm probably missing somebody. Uh but this these guys helped me get acclimated because, like you said, I didn't go to I wasn't in spring training. I was basically wasn't even thinking about baseball, hadn't watched the baseball game at all. And uh I had kept up with the Tigers just, you know, because I knew it was a lot of guys. But when I got here, you know, these guys, you know, welcomed me and and uh you know had a quick meeting with the with the group, with the players, and you know, I went in and they all had toothpicks and you know that kind of thing. They all had toothpicks. I think Bachler and this coaches kind of kind of kind of put uh uh kind of put put them up to it. And uh so uh but this staff has been been been outstanding. The toughest part for me was playing catch up. You know, missing spring training, getting here. Now everybody's in in full swing, and I'm not even close to there yet. So it took me probably eight to 12 days to kind of feel like myself as far as you know how I like to go about it, preparation, the organization, you know, being, you know, planning the day and all that kind of stuff. So it took me probably close to two weeks to get that, feel like I was caught up and feel like, okay, I feel like myself, I'm back on track now.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And you have a long term connection with Detroit Tigers manager, AJ Hence. You coached him when you were at Edmonton, right? 90s. And uh first of all, having a former player ask you to coach like that had to be quite a thrill, too, just for him to ask you to join him with the Tigers for four years.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, you know, uh uh AJ and I, you know, he came to Edmonton and then when he went to the big leagues, I was on the staff with Oakland on that staff. And, you know, we kind of went out, he went on to do other things, you know, uh in baseball, managed Arizona. He was on the front office with Arizona, that thing. Then we kind of reconnected in San Diego a little bit. When he came over to San Diego, he was in the front office and we talked a little bit. I don't know if you remember, we had a conversation one day one day, and you know, we just talked and uh, you know, always had a lot of respect for AJ. Uh and when I came over here to be able to was going to come here uh in 21 uh 22, uh, you know, he caught me off guard when he called me and asked me to come be on the staff. I mean, uh unfortunate situation, yeah. That situation. But, you know, uh, you know, I got a lot of respect for AJ. Uh you know, he he goes about it the right way.
SPEAKER_00And uh so and I imagine that it's helpful for you now managing the Mud Hens that you know what uh Coach Hinch expects and how he manages. So that's probably helpful in their player development and also just managing uh game day.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, it it does. I mean, just knowing uh uh his mentality sometimes as far as how he wants players to go about things, uh knowing how he kind of runs a game, uh knowing uh uh uh what his expectations are from you know players when they get to that level, you know. Yeah uh you know, he loves players that are versatile. So I think, you know, that's that's that's that that's a huge one of his huge things is you know being versatile. Yeah. And so uh I think being part of his staff the last four years has helped, you know, me understand what he's kind of looking for out of these guys at the next level.
SPEAKER_00What's your impression of um the city of Toledo and the fans here in Toledo and fifth, third uh field?
SPEAKER_01Well, first of all, it's a great stadium. Yeah. I mean, nice stadium, you know, good, good, good atmosphere, good, great place to come to work every day. Yeah. And, you know, the city, you know, I haven't seen a whole lot of it, but from what I've seen, you know, it's it's it's it's it's kind of down to earth, laid back, and you know, not it's not like everybody's in a hurry. You know, it's kind of which which is kind of I like it, you know, because I'm not a big coming from Henderson, right? I I like I like that part of it. You know, downtown here is quiet, especially during the week. You know, get a few more people on the weekend, but you know, every the adjustment has been good. Everything, everyone has been been great. Uh the the the staff here at the stadium is outstanding, the staff at the hotel is outstanding. So it's been it's been a positive experience.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Couple more questions for you, coach, because I know you have to get ready for the game. Um, looking back, who was the person or people that believed in Gary Jones before anyone else did?
SPEAKER_01Well, I think uh the person that believed it believed in me was me. Yeah. You know, I believed in me. So I think that in itself, because it don't matter what anybody else thinks, it matters what you as an individual think. I had a player the other day ask me, what did I think about his swing, his new swing? I said, What do you think about it? He said, I like it. I said, Well, that's all that matters. You know, so to answer your question, is it's me.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's awesome. When you connect with former players or coaches you've shared a dugout with, what part of that conversation is most meaningful to you?
SPEAKER_01Uh probably when I get a player that out of the blue calls me up and just start talking, and then he'll say, Jonesy, I didn't appreciate it back then, but I appreciate it now. When you get that conversation, it lets you know it was all worth it.
SPEAKER_00You know what I'm saying? That's great. Yeah. Seems like we should end on family. Is there anything you want to share about your family? You feel comfortable? I know you're a private guy.
SPEAKER_01So well, no, you know, I mean, without the family, I wouldn't be in this, yeah, you know, in this situation, you know. My wife and I uh uh been married since 1982. And uh, you know, we got two girls. I was doing their thing. One of the young ladies, Tiffany is in Houston, and Taryn's in the Dallas area. Uh so you know, my wife still works at her job at home, East Tex Telephone Co-op. And, you know, during offseason, I go back to Texas, go back to Henderson, Texas, and that's that's that's that's where I am. I'm just kind of laid back and I'm out every day, you know, my on my little uh property. I got a few cattle that, you know, on property with some property. I love to fish. I love fish and hunt.
SPEAKER_00Any other wild, any other uh wildlife or any no, just just cattle.
SPEAKER_01Just cattle. Yeah, just you know, I love to hunt fish, so you know, hunt fish on my property. So yeah, just uh, you know, people ask me all the time, you go stay in Henderson? I'm like, yeah, not going anywhere. You know, we my wife and I both born and were raised in Henderson. And I've been knowing her first just like second grade.
SPEAKER_00We're high school sweetheart, so that's awesome. Yeah. Well, I can tell this has been a wonderful conversation. Thank you for being so uh genuine and open. And um, if I'm ever in Henderson, Texas, I'm gonna stop at the Gary Jones Field of Dreams because you're very deserving of all the accolades, but something like that, your hometown recognizing your impact beyond baseball is really significant. And we're thrilled to have you here in Toledo. And uh we wish you all the best as you skipper the Mud Hens for the rest of the season. And at some point, come back and talk to us, okay?
SPEAKER_03Hi, bro. Appreciate it, man. Sounds good.