1986 Topps, Bob Jones

#142 Bob Jones

Here is a card that I was able to get signed in Omaha last month. Bobby is the manager of the the Rangers AAA affiliate, the Round Rock Express, and I was able to get this card signed prior to their contest against the Storm Chasers. Omaha has a nice set-up for the autograph seekers as both teams enter the field from left field. I didn't recognize Bobby when he walked by, but I was lucky enough that the Hawks had names on the back of their jerseys and I was able to back track to get him.

Bobby had a long and interesting career. He played pro ball until he was 37-years old. But, throughout that time, he only appeared in 314 Major League games. On the flip-side, Bobby played in 1417 minor league games with over 1000 of them at the AAA level. I guess Bobby was basically a AAAA player. He did great in AAA, but couldn't quite put it together in the Majors.

His career line in interesting to look at. He played in a little over 100 Major League games in the '70s and all of those came from 1974-'77 with 78 of the games coming in 1976. He then disappeared to the minors for a few seasons, but did play in ten games for the Rangers in 1981. He then spent all of '82 in AAA before splitting time between the Majors and minors for the next four years. For his career, Bobby is a .221 hitter with 20 home runs.