Adam Jones hints at retirement

Former Orioles outfielder Adam Jones didn’t entirely shut the door on his playing career. But in an article published Tuesday for The Players’ Tribune, Jones hinted at his time playing baseball reaching an end, reminiscing on his time in Japan as the “perfect sendoff.”

“I feel incredibly lucky,” Jones wrote. “I gave every day my all. And it’s been a hell of a run.”

The five-time All-Star selection with the Orioles last played in Major League Baseball in 2019 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, a final stop after 11 seasons in Baltimore and two in Seattle.

Then the 36-year-old moved to Japan, where he played for the Orix Buffaloes. He didn’t realize it at the time, but his last in-game swing of the bat as a professional might’ve happened there.

In Game 5 of the 2021 Japan Series against the Yakult Swallows, with his wife and two sons sitting in the stands, Jones hit a pinch-hit solo home run to give the Buffaloes the lead.

Jones wrote that he was “fortunate enough to have had an amazing career,” beginning with the 2003 draft, when the Mariners selected him 37th overall. A trade brought him to Baltimore, where he was a fixture in center field and won four Gold Glove awards.