It was at Orioles FanFest 14 months ago that Adam Jones first publicly broached the subject of free agency. He said he was excited about the possibility, but everyone viewed his comments as little more than a negotiating ploy.
Surely, Jones wanted to stay in Baltimore and the Orioles would find a way to keep him here. He had meant way too much to the team and Baltimore to just let him wander off into the sunset of his career.
Of course, that was before the Orioles fell off the edge of the baseball world and the face of the franchise suddenly became too much of a luxury, regardless of how much he contributed to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and to the revival of the O’s franchise over the past decade.