Frederick, Md. – Jacque Jones, 48, has been named manager of the Frederick Keys becoming 26th manager in Keys history. He takes over for Rene Rivera who guided the club to a 37-34 record in his lone season as manager in 2023. Jones becomes the fourth manager of the Keys Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft League era.
2024 will be Jones’ first season as a manager as he takes the helm for the Keys. Last season, Jones served as the Keys hitting coach and the team hit .278 on the season and produced almost 400 RBIs.
“I’m excited. It’s my first time managing. I’m excited being in a familiar setting. I’m looking forward to everything and being in a championship game this year after falling short last year. Looking forward to having a small hand in trying to further these young guys careers,” said Jones.
Jones played collegiate ball at the University of Southern California and was named First Team All-American for the Trojans in 1994. Jones was a member of Team USA and won a bronze medal in the 1996 Olympics hosted in Atlanta, GA.
The Minnesota Twins drafted Jones in the second round of the 1996 MLB June Amateur Draft. He made his MLB debut for the Twins on June 9, 1999. Once promoted Jones played in 95 games during the 1999 season and hit .289 with 9 homeruns and 44 RBIs.
Jones spent ten years in the big leagues (1999-2008) as an outfielder with multiple teams. During his career Jones played for Minnesota, Chicago (NL), Detroit and Florida. While with Minnesota, Jones played all three outfield positions and hit for power and averaging 20 homeruns a season from 2000-2005 with the Twins.
Jones began his coaching career in 2012 as the hitting coach for the San Diego Padres Class A Affiliate, the Fort Wayne TinCaps. He was promoted to Double A in 2013 as the hitting coach for the San Antonio Missions. 2014 also led to another promotion to Triple A with the El Paso Chihuahuas. In 2016, Jones reached the Majors with the Washington Nationals as their Assistant Hitting Coach.
Fans can buy or renew ticket plans as well as book group outings for the 2024 season by calling 301-815-9900 or get more information on ticket plans at FrederickKeys.com.
For a downloadable schedule, click here.
For more information on the Frederick Keys, please contact Branden McGee at bmcgee@FrederickKeys.com.
For more information about the MLB Draft League, visit mlbdraftleague.com or follow @mlbdraftleague & @draftleaguedata on Twitter, and @mlbdraftleague on Instagram
