Jacque Jones was my favorite Minnesota Twin from 2000-20005. I felt that as Jacque Jones went, so went the Minnesota Twins. It seemed to me that when Jacque hit well the Twins won. When Jacque did not hit well the Twins lost.
I have no proof this was actually the case. Sabermertics people (people who study baseball stats) could probably produce numerous stats proving that say, for example, Torii Hunter was more important to the Twins success during those years. And while I love examining baseball stats and using them to prove a baseball player importance or unimportance, I sometimes just like going with a feeling that I get that a certain player is the key to a team.
Jacque, like Gary Gaetti before him, is one of those players whose value went beyond stats. Jacque willingly batted leadoff, even if he was not a typical leadoff hitter. Jacque, a left fielder, willingly moved to right field when Shannon Stewart joined the Twins and expressed a comfort level playing left field over right field. This made Stewart more productive and the Twins a better team.
Jacque was a team leader and teammate by example not words. I felt a need to write about Jacque, because I just received autographed baseball card back from him. Baseball cards stir up memories in me, and my memories of Jacque and his play for the Twins came back to me upon looking at this card. I could not help but think how great Jacque would look in left field for today’s Twins. Not to mention hitting leadoff.
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I created this blog in response to an assignment given to me for one of my graduate school classes. I named my blog the Minnesota Twins, Country Music, and Random Thoughts, because I have a passion for Twins baseball and Country Music. The Random Thoughts part comes in, because I know there will be others things I will want to write about that do not involve Twins baseball or Country Music.
