Jones made his major league debut on August 25, 1902, with the
Baltimore Orioles. He appeared in 37 games for the Orioles and compiled a .283
batting average. In September 1903, Jones was drafted by the
St. Louis Browns. He played six seasons for the Browns from 1904 to 1909 and became known as one of the best defensive first basemen in baseball. He led all American League players, regardless of position, with 487 outs made in 1904 and 1,616 putouts in 1908. He ranked second in putouts in 1904, 1905, 1907, and 1910. Among the league's first basemen, he ranked second in assists for six consecutive years from 1904 to 1909, led in
range factor in 1904 (11.46) and 1905 (11.90), and also led with 79 double plays in 1908. He also led the American League with 40 sacrifice hits in 1906. He appeared in 44 games for the
1909 Tigers and also appeared in all seven games of the
1909 World Series against the
Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1910, Jones concluded his major league career with the Tigers, compiling a .255 batting average in 135 games. Over the course of eight major league seasons, Jones appeared in 1,058 games, 1,033 of them as a first baseman, and compiled a .258 batting average with 964 hits and 135
stolen bases. Defensively, he totaled 10,872 putouts, 698 assists, 456 double plays, and 183
errors. After his major league career ended, Jones played for five seasons with the
Milwaukee Brewers of the
American Association from 1911 to 1915. ==Later years==