Tracy Jones

Tracy Donald Jones (born March 31, 1961 in Hawthorne, California), is a former professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues primarily as an outfielder from 1986-1991. Jones was drafted by the New York Mets in the 4th round of the 1982 amateur draft, but did not sign. In January 1983 Jones was selected as the first overall pick of the secondary phase of the amateur draft by the Cincinnati Reds. Jones debuted with the Reds in 1986 and in 1987, he played in 116 games, batted .290, and stole 31 bases. In 1988, Jones was traded with Pat Pacillo to the Montreal Expos for Jeff Reed, Herm Winningham, and Randy St. Claire. Jones would later be traded to the Giants, the Mariners, and eventually the Tigers where he played his final game on October 6, 1991.

Jones hosted "Extra Innings" on WLW after Cincinnati Reds games. Jones' approach on "Extra Innings" can be characterized as a "If you haven't played the game then you don't understand it enough to talk about it." This approach has angered some listeners while gathering support from others. Jones is also known for asking each caller, who calls after a Friday night game, as to how many drinks he or she has had.

Jones had several frequent callers to his "Extra Innings" show, including Richard from Indian Hill, Ohio, who makes disparaging comments about people not as wealthy as he, referring to them as "ham and eggers"; the "thought to be deceased but recently proved otherwise" Carla from Beverly Hills, California; and Rod from Norwood, Ohio, who purports to own and run a "no frills" daycare center at which he insists on being paid in cash so he can avoid paying income taxes.

Jones is also one of the co-hosts of "Brennaman and Jones on Baseball," a daily segment on 700 WLW AM where Jones and Reds' announcer Marty Brennaman discuss various aspects of baseball.

Starting in January 2008, Jones has taken over the 3-6 pm time slot on 700 WLW previously held by Gary Burbank. Cohosting with Tracy is notable Cincinnati DJ Eddie Fingers, who was the long time host of the morning show on WEBN in Cincinnati. Currently, Jones is cohosting the 3-6 pm time slot with Scott Sloan, who replaced Eddie Fingers, who's no longer with WLW.

Jones has falsely credited himself for inventing the popular catch phrase, "It is what it is" at age 7. He regularly asks show guests if they agree with his catch phrase regarding their respective topics ("When it comes to (topic x) I think you'll agree with me when I say, 'It is what it is'"). He also regularly will end a conversation with a female caller by guessing her weight over the phone.

Jones' son, Hunter, was drafted in the 11th round of the 2010 MLB first year player draft by the Cleveland Indians.

Batting Stats

• 493 Games
• 356 Hits
• 27 Home Runs
• 164 RBIs
• 62 Stolen Bases
• .273 Batting Average

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Baseball Almanac