Could Adam Jones Birthday Have Played Into His Phillies Trade Veto?

Adam Jones decided that he wanted to stay in Baltimore despite opportunities to join contending teams. Could it have anything to do with his birthday?

The Baltimore Orioles owned the MLB Trade Deadline with a bevy of moves meant to unload talent and build for the future. Despite having boatloads of pieces that other teams wanted — including the grand prize of Manny Machado — the O’s were miserable this year and never clicked all at the same time. Six different players hit the road, with 14 prospects coming back in return. In addition to the 14 young guns, the O’s also received a capable veteran in former stolen base king Jonathan Villar.

With that said, one of the biggest potential pick-ups for other teams was five-time All-Star outfielder Adam Jones. Instead of joining a contender, though, Jones decided he was staying in Baltimore for the rest of the year. He used his 10-5 rights to veto a trade to the surging Philadelphia Phillies.

The Baltimore Sun spoke with him after it all went down:

“When players walked out years ago and walked the picket lines and stuff, they did that for reasons like this … I earned this and it’s my decision. I don’t have to explain it to nobody. It’s my decision. Thank you.”

…

“I made the decision, you all didn’t. This is my decision, this is my life. I’m not going around dictating other people’s lives. So why do they do that with us? No one is going to tell me what to do. I earned every single bit of it. People before me fought vigorously, tirelessly to get rights like this. And I can invoke them.”

Obviously, Jones, who is hitting .285 this season, had a choice and he made it. A lot of what went into his decision seems to be convenience, like not uprooting his family for a short period of time and wanting to pick a perfect fit. And part of that convenience, in my mind, could be the fact that the MLB Trade Deadline was on July 31st — exactly one day before his 33rd birthday.

Think about your birthday. Would you want to be in the middle of a dreaded moving day during your birthday? Would you want the stress of it all? Like, the dude has a wife and a kid; that’s a lot of questions to answer that you may not want to deal with — especially on your birthday. Besides the potential hassle, think about how most of us spend our birthdays — with friends and family. Yes, he would have his family with him (likely in a hotel) but all of his homies are in that Baltimore clubhouse. He’d be the new guy in Philadelphia, complete with no one even knowing he had just turned 33-years old.

READ: Former Orioles Outfielder Eric Byrnes is Swimming, Biking, and Running Across America For Charity

This thought, of course, is purely speculation but I’m guessing it played a tiny bit into his decision. Birthdays aren’t important to some people. Personally, it’s just another day. But maybe, just maybe, Adam Jones values his birthday and wanted it to be smooth sailing.

Oh yeah…Happy Birthday, AJ.