Jones again the target of racial abuse (updated)

BOSTON - Manny Machado had to deal with a booing crowd last night and more questions about a series against the Red Sox in Baltimore than turned ugly following his late slide into Dustin Pedroia.

Who knew that the real ugliness was playing out in the stands at Fenway Park? That Adam Jones was subjected to much harsher treatment?

Jones clearly was agitated with fans in center field and expressed it after making a fantastic lunging catch to rob Mitch Moreland and end the eighth inning, jumping to his feet and turning to gesture at them.

The taunting and heckling of Jones had crossed the line, with the All-Star center fielder telling USA Today's Bob Nightengale that he was bombarded with racial slurs and had a bag of peanuts hurled at him near the dugout.

"A disrespectful fan threw a bag of peanuts at me,'' Jones said, "I was called the N-word a handful of times tonight. Thanks. Pretty awesome.

"Very unfortunate. I heard there was 59 or 60 ejections tonight in the ballpark. It is what it is, right? I just go out and play baseball. It's unfortunate that people need to resort to those types of epithets to degrade another human being. I'm trying to make a living for myself and for my family.

"The best thing about myself is that I continue to move on and still play the game hard. Let people be who they are. Let them show their true colors.''

Jones didn't let it distract from the job at hand. He made a series of outstanding catches, including his long sprint to glove Jackie Bradley Jr.'s drive in the left-center field gap in the ninth inning.

The fan who threw the peanuts was ejected from the ballpark, but Jones pushed for a harsher punishment.

"It's pathetic,'' he said. "It's called a coward. What they need to do is that instead of kicking them out of the stadium, they need to fine them 10 grand, 20 grand, 30 grand. Something that really hurts somebody. Make them pay in full. And if they don't, take it out of their check.

"That's how you hurt somebody. You suspend them from the stadium, what does that mean? It's a slap on the wrist. That guy needs to be confronted and he needs to pay for what he's done.

"At the end of the day, when you throw an object onto the field of play, the player has no idea what it is. What if something hit me right in the eye and I can't play baseball anymore? Then what? I just wear it? No. Things like that need to be handled a little more properly, in my opinion.''

Manager Buck Showalter referred to the bag of peanuts while talking with reporters outside the clubhouse. It seemed at the time to be an embellishment of the harsh conditions at Fenway Park.

"It's a tough night to play," Showalter said. "It's wet, cold, windy, people throwing peanut bags. You name it. That's why they do what they do."

Jones has dealt with this sort of treatment in the past. He isn't a first-time visitor to the ugly side.

On Aug. 11, 2013, a fan at AT&T Park in San Francisco threw a banana from the stands that landed near Jones in the bottom of the ninth inning. Jones didn't mention the incident to reporters following a 10-2 win, but he vented about it on Twitter.

"I want to thank whatever (expletive) threw that banana towards my direction in CF in the last inning. Way to show ur class u (expletive)"

Jones addressed reporters the following day in Arizona.

"It's unfortunate that things happen like that, but it ain't gonna stop me, myself and the Orioles," he said. "We have games to win. It's mid-August. I've got a bigger concern on my head than someone's ignorance or act of whatever."

It's unfortunate that this sort of thing continues to happen in 2017. That Jones and his teammates can't be allowed to simply feel good about a victory over a division rival and a return to first place.

The Orioles will attempt to focus on baseball again tonight. Jones will be back in center field and batting second in the order. Zach Britton will come off the disabled list.

Machado likely will be booed again. Hopefully, it's the worst that happens.

Update: The Red Sox have issued a formal apology to Jones.

"The Red Sox want to publicly apologize to Adam Jones and the entire Orioles organization for what occurred at Fenway Park Monday night," said president Sam Kennedy. "No player should have an object thrown at him on the playing field, nor be subjected to any kind of racism at Fenway Park. The Red Sox have zero tolerance for such inexcusable behavior, and our entire organization and our fans are sickened by the conduct of an ignorant few. Such conduct should be reported immediately to Red Sox security, and any spectator behaving in this manner forfeits his/her right to remain in the ballpark, and may be subject to further action. Our review of last night's events is ongoing."

Boston mayor Marty Walsh also issued a statement.

"This is unacceptable and not who we are as a city," Walsh said. "These words and actions have no place in Fenway, Boston, or anywhere. We are better than this."