Flights of fancy for Jones
Back-and-forth day for pitcher
OAKLAND, Calif. - Hunter Jones had been sleeping for only 2 1/2 hours, and the ringing of his cellphone failed to rouse him at 3 a.m. yesterday. Ron Johnson, the manager of the Pawtucket Red Sox, banged on the door of his hotel room in Rochester, N.Y. That woke up Jones, and Johnson told him why he was there: Jones, for the first time, was going to the major leagues.
Players dream for years about their first day in the majors, and none of those dreams comes close to how Jones's day transpired yesterday. Sixteen hours, one bus ride, two flights, and three time zones after he awoke, Jones landed here just in time to board another cross-country flight.
Jones had been summoned in case the Red Sox needed an extra arm in their bullpen, which had thrown 11 innings Tuesday night in the wake of Daisuke Matsuzaka's implosion. While Jones battled travel delays, Tim Wakefield pitched a complete game that lasted 2 hours 13 minutes.
Jones arrived at the Oakland Coliseum, a black rolling suitcase in his hand and a gray laptop bag over his shoulder, 20 minutes after the 8-2 victory ended. He had been flying all day, the sole reward for which was another flight.
"This," manager Terry Francona said, "is going to be an interesting day for him."
Jones walked into the Red Sox clubhouse while his new teammates threw clothes in suitcases and knotted ties. They congratulated him on his first major league promotion. "What's going on, baby?" David Ortiz said as they embraced.
On Tuesday night, Jones faced two batters and struck out one in Pawtucket's 6-5 loss. He fell asleep at about 12:30 a.m. Less than three hours later, he was gathering his things and hustling onto a shuttle bus. After a 10-minute ride, it pulled into the Rochester airport at 4:45 a.m.
Jones learned of his travel plans from Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick. He would fly out of Rochester at 6 a.m. and land at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York in time to board a 9:15 a.m. flight to Oakland.
Jones drank coffee on the flight from Rochester. He had been signed by the Red Sox as an undrafted free agent in 2005, and he had opened the year at Triple A this season for the first time. Excited for his call-up, Jones, 25, couldn't sleep. The plane landed as scheduled. Everything had gone smoothly. He walked to his next gate.
Looking over the departing flights, Jones noticed that his to Oakland was delayed. The plane, he learned, was stuck in Richmond because of high winds. Jones scrambled to make alternate arrangements. "I didn't want to disappoint the team," he said. "I knew they needed some help."
Jones could not change his flight. It was delayed again, and then once more. At 11 a.m., Francona knew Jones had landed at JFK. He didn't know when or how Jones would be arriving in Oakland.
At noon, the flight scheduled for 9:15 a.m. finally boarded. Jones put on his headphones and searched for the Red Sox game on XM Radio. He couldn't find the score, and he had no idea what had happened until he landed, and at first thought he would have to rush to the Coliseum.
"Wakefield threw a good game I heard," he said. "I didn't get to see it."
When Jones arrived in the clubhouse, his teammates marveled at his day. "You've got to be kidding me," Ortiz said, eyes bugging, when informed of Jones's itinerary. All day, Jones had eaten only "a bunch of trail mix" and sipped coffee.
"He'll get a free steak on the way home," Francona said.
Jones flew back to Boston as part of the Red Sox' 25-man roster. The day's excitement still hadn't worn off. When he left the clubhouse, he thought about how he might occupy his second cross-country trip of the day.
"I don't know," Jones said. "I might try to sleep."
