Cleon Jones
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1963-1976)
Cleon Jones was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1976 for the New York Mets and the Chicago White Sox, a span of 14 seasons. In 1,213 career games, he hit .281 with 1,196 hits, 93 home runs, and 524 RBI. Cleon Jones was an All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 7,869.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- R / L
- Height / Weight
- 6'0" / 185 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1963-09-14
- Last Game
- 1976-05-01
- Awards
- All-Star
Full name: Cleon Joseph Jones
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,213 | 4,263 | 565 | 1,196 | 183 | 33 | 93 | 524 | 91 | 360 | 702 | .281 | .339 | .404 | .744 | 7,869 |
Career AVG .281 vs. league average .250 across their career seasons — +12.3% above league average.
Career OBP .339 vs. league average .316 across their career seasons — +7.2% above league average.
Career SLG .404 vs. league average .368 across their career seasons — +10.0% above league average.
Career OPS .744 vs. league average .684 across their career seasons — +8.7% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | NYN | NL | 6 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .133 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1965 | NYN | NL | 30 | 74 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 23 | .149 | .245 (-39%) | .310 (-45%) | .371 (-45%) | .682 (-45%) | -510.7 |
| 1966 | NYN | NL | 139 | 495 | 74 | 136 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 57 | 16 | 30 | 62 | .275 | .248 (+11%) | .309 (+3%) | .376 (-1%) | .685 (+1%) | 25.9 |
| 1967 | NYN | NL | 129 | 411 | 46 | 101 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 30 | 12 | 19 | 57 | .246 | .242 (+1%) | .306 (-8%) | .357 (-7%) | .663 (-8%) | -537.8 |
| 1968 | NYN | NL | 147 | 509 | 63 | 151 | 29 | 4 | 14 | 55 | 23 | 31 | 98 | .297 | .236 (+25%) | .298 (+14%) | .340 (+33%) | .638 (+24%) | 2083.3 |
| 1969 | NYN | NL | 137 | 483 | 92 | 164 | 25 | 4 | 12 | 75 | 16 | 64 | 60 | .340 | .248 (+37%) | .320 (+32%) | .369 (+31%) | .689 (+31%) | 3131.1 |
| 1970 | NYN | NL | 134 | 506 | 71 | 140 | 25 | 8 | 10 | 63 | 12 | 57 | 87 | .277 | .253 (+9%) | .325 (+8%) | .385 (+8%) | .711 (+8%) | 805.7 |
| 1971 | NYN | NL | 136 | 505 | 63 | 161 | 24 | 6 | 14 | 69 | 6 | 53 | 87 | .319 | .249 (+28%) | .316 (+21%) | .365 (+30%) | .682 (+25%) | 2442.6 |
| 1972 | NYN | NL | 106 | 375 | 39 | 92 | 15 | 1 | 5 | 52 | 1 | 30 | 83 | .245 | .243 (+1%) | .310 (-2%) | .353 (-7%) | .664 (-4%) | -241.5 |
| 1973 | NYN | NL | 92 | 339 | 48 | 88 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 48 | 1 | 28 | 51 | .260 | .256 (+1%) | .325 (-3%) | .378 (+4%) | .703 (+1%) | -20.4 |
| 1974 | NYN | NL | 124 | 461 | 62 | 130 | 23 | 1 | 13 | 60 | 3 | 38 | 79 | .282 | .256 (+10%) | .324 (+6%) | .369 (+14%) | .693 (+10%) | 861.5 |
| 1975 | NYN | NL | 21 | 50 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | .240 | .257 (-7%) | .327 (-14%) | .374 (-30%) | .701 (-23%) | -170.4 |
| 1976 | CHA | AL | 12 | 40 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 5 | .200 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 13 seasons | 1,213 | 4,263 | 565 | 1,196 | 183 | 33 | 93 | 524 | 91 | 360 | 702 | .281 | — | — | — | — | 7,869 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
Playoff Batting by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1213 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 599 | 2044 | 276 | 582 | 53 | 277 | .285 |
| Away | 614 | 2219 | 289 | 614 | 40 | 247 | .277 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976-05-01 | CHW | DET | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1976-04-30 | CHW | DET | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1976-04-29 | CHW | MIL | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-04-28 | CHW | MIL | L | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-04-23 | CHW | BOS | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-04-21 | CHW | NYY | L | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1976-04-20 | CHW | NYY | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1976-04-18 | CHW | BOS | W | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1976-04-17 | CHW | BOS | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1976-04-15 | CHW | BOS | W | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 35 | 32 | 273 | 19 | 4 | 12 |
| OF | 1111 | 1048 | 2007 | 64 | 47 | 10 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | NYN | OF | 5 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | NYN | OF | 23 | 16 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966 | NYN | OF | 129 | 125 | 275 | 10 | 6 | 2 |
| 1967 | NYN | OF | 115 | 102 | 210 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| 1968 | NYN | OF | 139 | 125 | 226 | 7 | 9 | 0 |
| 1969 | NYN | 1B | 15 | 12 | 99 | 7 | 0 | 3 |
| 1969 | NYN | OF | 122 | 119 | 223 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 1970 | NYN | OF | 130 | 128 | 243 | 10 | 5 | 3 |
| 1971 | NYN | OF | 132 | 130 | 248 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| 1972 | NYN | 1B | 20 | 20 | 174 | 12 | 4 | 9 |
| 1972 | NYN | OF | 84 | 78 | 136 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| 1973 | NYN | OF | 92 | 86 | 168 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| 1974 | NYN | OF | 120 | 116 | 220 | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| 1975 | NYN | OF | 12 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | CHA | OF | 8 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 35 |
| Left Field | 808 |
| Center Field | 268 |
| Right Field | 106 |
| Designated Hitter | 3 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | TSN All-Star | OF |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 7th | 82.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1966 | Rookie of the Year | NL | 4th | 1.0 | 20 | 1 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Cleon Jones (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Cleon Jones: the record in brief
According to the bio, Cleon Jones debuted on September 14, 1963 and played a final game on May 1, 1976. By club, Jones's seasons break down as the New York Mets (1963 to 1975) and the Chicago White Sox (1976). Born on August 4, 1942, in Plateau, AL, USA, Jones is listed as an outfielder and batted right-handed and threw left-handed. Size on record: 6 feet, 0 inches and 185 pounds. On the record, Cleon Jones was born Cleon Joseph Jones.
Jones collected 1,196 hits in 4,263 at bats across 1,213 games, good for a .281 batting average, plus 93 homers, 524 runs batted in, and 91 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .339 clip and slugging .404, Jones finished with a .744 OPS. Jones's .281 average ran 12.3% above the .250 that the league posted over the same seasons. By OPS the gap is 8.7% above league average (.744 against .684). No season beat the 14 home runs Jones hit in 1968.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cleon Jones
- What years did Cleon Jones play?
- Cleon Jones played in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1976.
- Was Cleon Jones a pitcher?
- No. Cleon Jones was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Cleon Jones hit?
- Cleon Jones hit 93 career home runs with 1,196 hits.
- What teams did Cleon Jones play for?
- Cleon Jones played for 2 teams: the New York Mets (1963, 1965–1975) and the Chicago White Sox (1976).
- Did Cleon Jones win an MVP award?
- No. Cleon Jones did not win the MVP award.
- What awards did Cleon Jones win?
- Cleon Jones was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
- What were Cleon Jones's career stats?
- In 1,213 games, Cleon Jones had 1,196 hits, 93 home runs, 524 RBI, 565 runs, and 91 stolen bases, with a .281 batting average.
- What position did Cleon Jones play?
- Cleon Jones played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Cleon Jones and how much did he weigh?
- Cleon Jones was listed at 6 feet and 185 pounds.
- How many home runs did Cleon Jones hit each season?
- Cleon Jones's home runs by season: 0 in 1963, 1 in 1965, 8 in 1966, 5 in 1967, 14 in 1968, 12 in 1969, 10 in 1970, 14 in 1971, 5 in 1972, 11 in 1973, 13 in 1974, 0 in 1975, and 0 in 1976. His most in one season was 14, in 1968 and 1971.
- What was Cleon Jones's career batting average?
- Cleon Jones batted .281 over his career, with 1,196 hits in 4,263 at bats.
- How many RBI did Cleon Jones have?
- Cleon Jones drove in 524 runs in his career.
- Is Cleon Jones in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Cleon Jones has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- How many All-Star Games did Cleon Jones make?
- Cleon Jones was selected to 1 All-Star Game.