North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Jones Riding Robinson-Ignited Hot Streak
5/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. NC State center fielder Marcus Jones never thought he could live up to the privilege of wearing No. 42.
That’s the number Jackie Robinson wore when he broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 and throughout his Hall of Fame career. But On April 15, when every player in the majors had the option of wearing Robinson’s retired number in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of his debut, Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent asked Jones if he would like to wear No. 42 as well.
It was a fitting tribute, Avent says, not because Jones is one of two African-American players on the Wolfpack roster, but because Jones’ father, Keith, grew up with ties to the Homestead Grays, a member of the Negro National League that split time between Pittsburgh and Washington. Marcus Jones wears a Negro League pendant on a chain, given to him by his grandmother, when he plays. Prior to that game in Coral Gables, Jones was in a major slump. He batted .200 for the month of March and had been benched in favor of junior Joe Florio for more than two weeks. On Jackie Robinson Day, Avent inserted Jones back into the lineup, and in fairy-tale fashion, Jones had a career day, collecting four hits with a home run and three RBIs.
“I wore it with pride,” said Jones, who switched his No. 20 jersey with teammate David Lindsay, who normally wears No. 42, for that game. “It was a day not to worry about results, but to go out and play as hard as I could and have as much fun as possible. “Ever since, I have been on a hot streak. I don’t know if I relate it back to that day or what. I am just trying to do the same things I have been, hopefully, I will get the same results.”
Jones has batted .397 with four doubles, two triples, three home runs and 18 RBIs. In his last 10 games, he has gotten 17 hits in 38 at-bats, a .447 average. Last week in Jacksonville, Fla., at the ACC Tournament, he batted .545 to make the all-tournament team. He heads into the Wolfpack’s fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament which begins Friday when the second-seeded Wolfpack plays third-seeded UNC-Charlotte at 2 p.m. in Columbia, S.C. with the team’s fourth-best batting average (.327), just behind Dallas Poulk (.389), Ryan Pond (.330) and Pat Ferguson (.329). Jones agrees that it’s too simplistic to attribute his turnaround to his Jackie Robinson Day return to the lineup. It is more attributable to his prolonged, mind-clearing stint on the bench.
“To tell you the truth, I just stopped worrying about everything,” Jones said. “Earlier this year, I was worrying about where my hands were, how I was loading, thinking too much about what pitch they were going to throw me. “Now, I just sit back and adjust to whatever they throw me.”
Avent agrees that Jones was over-thinking at the plate and was quickly overwhelmed in his first chance to be a starter. Last year, Jones played behind All-ACC selection and team Most Valuable Player Matt Camp. “He seemed like me going to New York City for the first time: Wow, this is overwhelming,’” Avent said. “He wasn’t playing the game, he was thinking it too much. Marcus is a guy with great abilities and talents and if he can just let his instincts for the game take over and relax and play the game he is just fine. That is what he wasn’t doing early in the season.
“We sat him down for a little bit and let him think about some things. It was good for Marcus. He came back in the Miami series and played very well and he has been going really well ever since.” Jones hopes he can keep his streak alive in the Columbia regional, as the Wolfpack joins top-seed South Carolina, first-round opponent UNC-Charlotte and fourth-seeded Wofford, beginning Friday. Games will be at 2 and 7 p.m. every day at the regional, with the winner advancing to the NCAA Super Regional against the winner of this weekend’s regional at North Carolina.
“I think we are where we need to be,” Jones said, as the team comes off its 1-2 record at the ACC Tournament last weekend. “There are a few things we have to adjust, but this late in the season, there are only so many things you can do. “As a team we, are excited to go to South Carolina.”
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
