#308 Mets Rookie Stars - Cleon Jones / Tom Parsons

Cleon Joseph Jones
New York Mets
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  185
Born:  August 4, 1942, Plateau, AL
Signed:  Signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams:  New York Mets 1963, 1965-1975; Chicago White Sox 1976

Thomas Anthony Parsons
New York Mets
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'7"  Weight:  210
Born:  September 13, 1939, Lakeville, CT
Signed:  Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1957 season
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1963; New York Mets 1964-1965

Cleon Jones spent parts of 13 seasons in the majors, but his All-Star season of 1969 was by far his most memorable.  Jones first received regular playing time in 1966 as the team's everyday center fielder, and he finished fourth in the league's Rookie of the Year voting after batting .275 with 57 RBIs.  After a move to left field to accommodate the newly acquired Tommie Agee (#166), Jones had a career year in 1969.  He was named to the All-Star team and batted a career-high .340 (third in the league) with 12 home runs and 75 RBIs.  An offensive catalyst for the Amazing Mets, Jones caught the final out of the 1969 World Series, in which the Mets defeated the highly-favored Orioles in five games.  The Mets returned to the World Series in 1973, with Jones batting .286 with a pair of doubles and a home run against the victorious Athletics.

He played with the Mets through mid-1975, and attempted a comeback with the White Sox in 1976.  Jones  collected 1,196 hits overall in 1,213 games, batting .281 with 93 home runs and 524 RBIs.  He's currently fourth on the Mets' all-time franchise leaderboard with 1,188 hits, and he was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 1991.

1962 Topps #326

Tom Parsons pitched professionally for 13 seasons in the Pirates, Colt .45s/Astros, Mets and Red Sox systems.  He was with the Pirates organization for 7 1/2 years, but pitched in only one game for the club, a start on September 5, 1963, in which he went 4 1/3 innings and was the losing pitcher.  Parsons was a September call-up for the Mets in 1964, and spent the entire 1965 season with the club, appearing in 35 games.  He'd pitch four more seasons in the minor leagues, retiring following the 1969 campaign.  In 40 big league games, Parsons was 2-13 with a 4.72 ERA in 114 1/3 innings pitched.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #499
This is the 15th of 102 cards acquired for our set from the Baseball Card Sports Memorabilia Show, affectionately known as The Philly Show, held in the basement of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia in early March.  We went nuts and left the show needing only 12 more cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, and I wrote about the show in detail over at The Phillies Room.  Having wandered aimlessly among the dealer tables looking for binders with vintage commons, I decided to check to see if Uncle Dick's had refreshed their inventory following the December show, during which I had wiped out both their 1965 Topps binders.  Much to my pleasant surprise, they had.  This Rookie Stars card was $4 and was one of 49 commons purchased in my triumphant return to Uncle Dick's and his replenished neon green binders.

Depending on my ability to compose five posts a week on the cards acquired at this show, I should be completely caught up on this blog by mid-October.  It's entirely feasible we complete our 1965 Topps set by the end of 2022, although nine of the remaining 12 cards needed are fairly expensive.

The Card / Mets Team Set
This is Jones' rookie card and he'd appear on a Rookie Stars card again in the 1966 Topps set, this time with pitcher Dick Selma.  Parsons' rookie card appeared back in the 1962 Topps set (a solo card), and he's wearing a Pirates jersey on this Rookie Stars card.

1965 Season - Jones
After spending all of 1964 in the minors, Jones made the Mets' opening day roster in 1965, but was demoted in early May after beginning the season with a .156 average.  He received a September call-up and played mostly as a pinch-hitter or late-inning defensive replacement.  In 30 total games with the Mets, Jones batted .149 (11 for 74) with a home run and nine RBIs.  His first big league home run came on September 22nd off the Pirates' Bob Friend (#392).

With the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, Jones appeared in 123 games, batting .269 with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs.  He almost won the team's home run title, but first baseman William Haas finished the year with 18.

1965 Season - Parsons
Parsons also made the Mets' opening day roster and was with the team the entire season, witnessing all 112 losses.  He appeared in 35 games, making 11 starts, and was 1-10 with a 4.67 ERA in 90 2/3 innings pitched.  Parsons threw a complete game shutout against the Cubs on July 5th, allowing six hits and striking out three.

1967 Topps #165

1969 Topps #512

1972 Topps #31

1973 Topps #540

1975 Topps #43

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Jones
First Mainstream Card:  1965 Topps #308
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1965-1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Topps Heritage Miracle of '69 #MO69-CJ

119 - Jones non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/18/22.

Sources - Jones:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Parsons
First Mainstream Card:  1962 Topps #326
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1962, 1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2011 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-TP

4 - Parsons non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/18/22.

Sources - Parsons:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #307 Barry Latman - Los Angeles Angels

Next Card:  #309 Steve Hamilton - New York Yankees