Adam Jones: "This is now my town"

The Orioles just concluded their press conference to announce center fielder Adam Jones' six-year contract extension. Among the highlights: Jones: "Everybody knows I'm not from Baltimore, but this is now my town." Executive vice president Dan Duquette: "The dude rang the cash register every time he hit a home run." Cha-ching! Jones: "I'm 26. I feel like the best years are ahead of me." Jones: "I'm glad it's over with, and we can all focus on baseball. We have a good team here, and I just want to continue what our team's working for. Our manager, Show (Buck Showalter,) you're the man." Jones: "Mom, you're a big part of this. Don't cry. Please don't cry." Too late. Duquette, speaking to Jones' mother: "As they say, he done good." Duquette: "Here's a player who can help us on both sides of the ball. He's 26 years old. And he's a fixture in the community. We're telling Oriole fans we're committed to this player, we're committed to putting a winning team on the field and we're committing to providing hope to rebuilding our fan base." Jones' contract includes a no-trade clause that he felt was extremely important. He's committed to staying here. He wanted the organization to show the same commitment. A few of Jones' teammates stood in the back of the room, including Robert Andino, Jake Arrieta, Nick Markakis and J.J. Hardy. Here are a few more words from Jones: "I'm here for six more years, and I couldn't be happier." "There's a bigger goal here, and that's winning games. And that's the ultimate reason why I signed on. I believe in what Showalter and Duquette believe in, and they believe in winning." "I didn't get here by myself. There were a lot of people along the way who have given me a line of wisdom, maybe a word of wisdom throughout my life. And I've taken it and used it, and I appreciate the moment." "This is a great baseball city. It's coming back. But we've got to prove to the fans that we're for real. We're slowly doing it, but I think this is a big step in that right direction." Jones said he was sure "a while ago" that he wanted to stay. "It's a long commitment," he said. "Six years. It's a long time. But I've been here for five. It's making me, not necessarily a life-long Oriole, but sure leading in that direction. I was fortunate enough that Seattle traded me, and you guys grabbed me and made this what it is. I appreciate the opportunity. I took advantage of the opportunity to play every day in Baltimore and I haven't looked back." Jones said it "helped out a lot" that the Orioles were winning, but his reason for signing an extension extended beyond the results on the field. "You see a lot of different guys through free agency and go to other teams," he said. "I think me here, I fit here in this city, I fit here on this team, I fit in Camden Yards. I really don't see myself wearing another white uniform that doesn't have Orioles across the chest. After I put all that in perspective, if we win here, this is my championship, this is our championship. I'm not part of someone else's championship. Putting all that in perspective makes me even hungrier to win. As a competitor, that's ultimately what I want, to beat the odds. I do want to be a part of it."