(Story by Marco Stoovelaar)
    Son of Andruw Jones makes Spring Training-debut with Arizona Diamondbacks
Nederlands
 PHOENIX, Arizona (USA) -
Druw Jones, the 19-year old son of former Major Leaguer Andruw Jones, was assigned to the Major League-team of Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday (March 27) as an extra Minor League-player for the final two games of the exhibition-season.
On Tuesday (March 28), he made his debut.
Nineteen teams, including Arizona, played their final exhibition game on Tuesday.
Seven others ended their exhibition-season Monday and four clubs already played their final game last Sunday.
The regular season in the Major League opens on Thursday (March 30) and all 30 teams then will come into action.
Arizona then opens the season at Los Angeles Dodgers.
Although Druw Jones was born in Atlanta (USA), he of course has a Dutch background, as his father Andruw Jones comes from Curaçao.
With that Jones, Jr. became the seventeenth Dutch player (or with a Dutch background) who has been in a Major League Spring Training-camp this year.
On Monday and Tuesday, Arizona Diamondbacks played its final two exhibition-games against Cleveland Guardians at Chase Field, its home-stadium in Phoenix.
On Monday, the D'backs won 7-6 and on Tuesday-evening, the team won with a 3-1 score.
Druw Jones didn't play in Monday's game, but he then made his Spring Training-debut in Tuesday's game.
In the top of the fifth inning, Jones entered the game for Arizona as new centerfielder, replacing Alek Thomas and then immediately made his first out, as he caught the ball hit by Cleveland's lead-off hitter Pres Cavenaugh.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, with two outs, Jones got his first at bat.
With a 3-2 count, he drove the ball into deep rightfield, but there rightfielder Korey Holland with his back against the fence.
Jones got his second at bat with two outs in the bottom of the eighth.
Again, he connected well and this time, he hit the ball into rightfield for a single, but stranded on first base.
By the way, Druw Jones played with 25 on his back, the same number his father wore in his long Major League-career.
Druw Jones, who is considered a top prospect, was drafted and signed by Arizona Diamondbacks on July 23 last year.
He was drafted in the first round and was the second overall pick.
As a player of Wesleyan High School, he had batted .570 with 13 homeruns in the Spring-season of 2022.
Jones was assigned to the ACL D-backs Black-team, which is a Rookie League-team of Arizona in the Arizona Complex League.
However, three days later, he suffered an injury to his left shoulder during batting practice for what would have been his first professional game.
He had to undergo surgery and therefore didn't play in the 2022 season.
His father Andruw Jones played in seventeen Major League-seasons (1996-2012), including twelve with Atlanta Braves (1996-2007).
Jones also played for Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees.
The outfielder then played two seasons (2013-2014) in Japan for Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.
Jones played in five All-Star Games and won ten Gold Glove Awards.
In 2006 and 2013, Andruw Jones played for the Netherlands Team in the World Baseball Classic.
In 2017 and earlier this month, Jones was the Bench Coach of the Orange Team in the staff of Manager Hensley Meulens.
(March 28)
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