How Jahmai Jones is eligible to play for Korea in World Baseball Classic
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How Jahmai Jones is eligible to play for Korea in World Baseball Classic originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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Jahmai Jones will be a key piece of the World Baseball Classic.
The Detroit Tigers' burgeoning slugger is suiting up for Korea.
Korea begins play Thursday in Japan, with what will be a bright and early first pitch back in the U.S. at 5 a.m. ET (4 a.m. CT).
Jones isn't someone who many fans recognize as being Korean, but it's a cool opportunity for him to play in the WBC.
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How is Jahmai Jones eligible for Korea in WBC?
Jones is eligible to play for the Korean team thanks to his mother.
His mother, Michele, was born in South Korea, according to The Athletic.
Jones' father Andre, a former NFL player, died when he was 42, and when Jahmai was 13.
Michele raised six children on her own from there.
“A lot of people can sympathize, but it’s hard to empathize until you go through it,” Jones told The Athletic. “To go through it at such a young age, with so many kids and watching her not miss a beat, it really made me understand a lot more about my mom, without even having to talk to her, about how strong she is, what she’s able to endure, what she can do on a daily basis.”
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Now, Jones gets a chance to represent his mother's heritage.
“She tried to make sure every single day we knew we were taken care of,” Jones told The Athletic. “We knew we were loved. We were able to do anything we put our minds to. I think from that aspect growing up, to be able to do something like that for her, I don’t want to get emotional, but it’s a big deal.”
Jones watched with his wife when MLB Network announced the official rosters.
“You feel like a kid on Christmas morning," Jones told The Athletic. "You haven’t opened all your presents yet, and then you look behind the tree and it’s like, ‘There’s one. I wonder what it will be.’”
The Athletic also shared that Jones' mother, along with two sisters, are planning to be at the pool play games in Japan.
“It is probably one of the single most important things I’ve done in baseball, truthfully,” Jones said. “I don’t know if I understand the weight of it yet, and I probably won’t until I get there.”
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