The Angels' Greg Jones is the community college's first player to make the major leagues.
By STEVE LEE
Published August 1, 2003
NEW PORT RICHEY - Through 12 seasons and more than 157 ballplayers, Pasco-Hernando Community College baseball coach Steve Winterling never had sent anyone to The Show.
Pitcher Greg Jones, 26, bucked the odds Wednesday when he was called up from the Angels' top farm club, Triple-A Salt Lake.
"That's phenomenal," Winterling said, noting that PHCC's rate of major leaguers now stands at 0.63 percent.
Even more impressive was Jones' debut. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound right-hander pitched a scoreless inning in an 8-0 loss to the New York Yankees in front of an Edison Field sellout crowd of 43,856.
"They gave him an opportunity to get in there and, obviously, he performed well," Winterling said.
In the ninth inning, Jones got Derek Jeter to foul out, induced a Bernie Williams groundout, walked Jason Giambi and struck out Jorge Posada. In all, 11 of his 17 pitches were strikes.
"It was just awesome," Jones said Friday from the Edison Field clubhouse. "Those guys are established big leaguers and I'm in my first two hours in the big leagues. It was a big challenge. They're all-stars and they've been world champs.
"It was cool."
Winterling and Steve Mumaw, Wesley Chapel's baseball coach and formerly PHCC's pitching coach, are planning a trip to Cleveland (Aug. 8-10) or Detroit (Aug. 21-24) to catch a glimpse of Jones in an Angels uniform.
"That means more to me that he made it than if I did," said Mumaw, a former minor leaguer in the Blue Jays and Cardinals systems who helped convert Jones from a catcher/outfielder to a pitcher during the 1996-97 seasons at PHCC.
"He's like one of my kids."
Three former PHCC players - all pitchers - have made it to Triple-A (Brent Stentz, Chris Cumberland and Frank Sanders). And judging by Jones' numbers in 1996-97, it did not appear he would be among that group.
In two seasons, Jones, a standout catcher from Seminole, batted .249 while playing a school-record 100 games. In limited time on the mound, he pitched seven innings with an 0-1 record, allowing 13 hits and 10 runs.
Winterling and Mumaw described Jones as "a secret," adding that he often threw in the bullpen or in batting practice.
The Angels, specifically scout Tom Kotchman, were impressed enough with Jones' strong arm to draft him in the 42nd round in 1996.
"The kid had the most outstanding arm you'd ever seen," Mumaw said. "I told him, "Hey, Greg. If you want to (pitch) that's where you're future's going to be."'
Added Winterling, "Jones has been blessed with the best arm that I ever coached. I used to play catch with the guy and even his easy throws were hard."
In five minor league seasons, Jones pitched 200 games (12 starts) and went 16-22 with 28 saves and a 4.69 ERA. He walked 136 and struck out 288 in that span.
"I never thought about quitting, just learning to be consistent was the toughest thing to do," Jones said. "I felt all along that I always had a shot. For some reason I felt like it would happen."
Jones, who played on PHCC's last state tournament team, earned an associate's degree from that school in 1997. He was unaware of being the first Conquistador to make it to the majors.
"I just hope that coach Winterling and coach Mumaw are proud," Jones said. "Hopefully, it's good for the program."
Winterling is as proud of Jones' becoming PHCC's first major leaguer as he was of him earning a degree.
"That proves right there you better have your education," Winterling said.
