General Managing

Nolan Jones made a big splash in his Major League debut with the Cleveland Guardians.

Called up last week, he had two hits in his first game and then his first home run in his second game. He went seven for his first 13 with eight RBIs, making him the fastest Guardian to reach eight career RBIs in nearly 100 years.

It's always good to see a young player have that kind of success right off the bat. Jones' brother is Peyton Jones, who is a hockey goalie. He played for four years at Penn State, including multiple times against Princeton, and his coach at Penn State was obviously former Tiger coach Guy Gadowsky. These days, Peyton Jones, in the Colorado Avalanche system, is right on the verge of being called up to the NHL.

Ah, but he's not quite there yet.

After Nolan had his big debut, Peyton tweeted out this:

The word is out. About 15 years ago we made a bet. Whoever makes it to the MLB or NHL first gets to have their signature tattooed on the others butt. Safe to say I lost the bet. Any recommendations on tattoo places in Philly? @Nolan_Jones10 https://t.co/8u2oCGQ9LF

— Peyton Jones (@Peyton_Jones31) July 10, 2022

 Now that's pretty good stuff.

TigerBlog is rooting extra hard for these two brothers. Why? It's because they both went to high school with TigerBlog Jr. TB has never met either one, but hey, some connections lead to a lifetime of rooting, correct?

Nolan was the second-round pick of the Guardians a few years back, signing instead of playing at the University of Virginia, and he probably would have made the Majors sooner had it not been for injuries and Covid. Now that he's there, the goal is to stick.

One of the people who will be deciding Jones' future is Cleveland general manager Mike Chernoff. If that name is familiar, it's because he is a former Princeton shortstop, someone who played on Ivy League championship and NCAA tournament teams in 2000, 2001 and, as a senior, in 2003. 

Chernoff is not alone among Princeton alums who are currently in decision-making roles for Major League Baseball teams. In fact, he's one of three Princetonians who are Major League GMs right now, while a fourth is a team president and CEO.

Chris Young is the GM of the Texas Rangers. He grew up in Highland Park, near Dallas, and he was a basketball/baseball star while at Princeton. Do most Princeton fans still remember his story, or has it been 22 years since he competed here and that has caused memories to fade or a new generation of fans to not really know?

Young was a dominant center and pitcher as a Tiger. Unfortunately for Princeton fans, he turned 21 a few days before the Major League draft after his sophomore year, and when he signed his first pro contract, he was therefore ineligible in the Ivy League in both sports.

It certainly left Princeton fans to wonder what might have been has he played two more seasons of basketball. He was already being spoken about as an NBA draft choice, and he certainly looked the part when he went against a few players who ultimately did play in the league.

His baseball career, though, was extraordinary. He won a World Series with the Kansas City Royals, winning Game 1 with three incredibly clutch innings in a game the Royals won in the 14th. He was a Comeback Player of the Year and an All-Star, and he pitched for 13 years in the Majors.

Still, it would have been great to see how he would have done with his last two years in basketball at Princeton.

Princeton alum Mike Hazen is the General Manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Mark Shapiro is the one who is the president and CEO, in his case for the Toronto Blue Jays.

This is all a pretty good achievement for the baseball program. It speaks volumes about the impact that Scott Bradley has had on his players as Princeton's coach all these years.

As TB wrote last week and Monday, there is a host of former men's basketball players who have gone into coaching and basketball management. It makes TB wonder how many of them would have said when they were Princeton undergrads or before they came to Princeton that they'd want to make their sport their career.

Bradley is a baseball guy through and through. His love for the sport is obvious and infectious.  

He has clearly had an impact with more than just his wins and championships.