Timothy Jones has reached the collegiate level of baseball and is hoping to reach major league baseball.
Jones has been playing baseball since the age of three. His dad taught him everything he knows.
“My father brought me up through my childhood playing baseball and he’s deceased now but that’s a part of why I stuck with it,” he said. “He’s definitely my drive to keep going. Just thinking about all the hard work we put in and all the good times we had keeps his memory alive for me. It let’s me know I can enjoy the game even though he’s not here.”
Jones, a native of Lithonia, Ga., is a starting pitcher for the Florida A&M baseball team. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity incorporated, and a work study student expecting to graduate in the summer with his Bachelors in Health Care management.
“Sometimes I don’t know how to handle it all,” Jones said. “It’s definitely by the grace of God.”
He’s had scouts looking at him since he was in high school. He had the opportunity to be drafted out of high school for the LA Dodgers, but turned it down.
“That’s a decision where I thought I needed time to grow,” Jones said. “I was only eighteen and about to step into a big world that I don’t think I was ready for quite yet.”
He strives everyday to prepare himself to be the best he can be when the opportunity is presented to go to the major leagues. He wants to make it not for himself, but for his family he said.
“My baby sister and I have grown closer since my father passed and she’s my motivation to make it so my family is taken care of,” Jones said.
He enjoys the game for numerous reasons, but the opportunity to network and meet new people interests him the most.
“I love baseball because I get to meet different people of different ethnicities and personalities and we unite for one common goal which is to win,” Jones said.
He said his strength is in his arm and his weakness is his aggressiveness dealing with competition. His years at FAMU have humbled him.
“After being hurt it made me learn to humble myself and that you still have to work hard in everything you do,” Jones said.
His opportunity to play for the major leagues could be around the corner if he’s consistent.
“I have an opportunity to play at the next level after this season, if I stay injury free and my performance is at it’s best,” Jones said.