El Diamante honors fallen firefighter and former baseball player Patrick Jones

Patrick Jones is special in El Diamante High School's assistant baseball coach Bert Flores’ heart.

When Jones played for Flores’ teams during the 2011-12 seasons, the outfielder would always keep an eye on Flores’ son, Aaron, who joined the team for practices in the ballpark. Aaron has down syndrome.

When they were shagging balls, Jones shielded Aaron away from the baseballs, and he never got hit by a ball.

That told Flores all he needed to know about Jones and what type of person he would be after graduation. Flores was the El Diamante head varsity baseball coach from 2004-13 and returned as an assistant last season.

Jones tragically died in the line of duty when he and other members of the Porterville Fire Department tried to save others in the 2020 Porterville library fire.

Jones, a 2012 El Diamante grad, was 25.

“My son would come out, and I would put him in the outfield, and Patrick was always the guy,” Flores said. “He was always next to him. I felt safe bringing him out and him hanging out with Patrick. Patrick, you could just tell he was a happy guy. He always came to practice with a smile on his face. He was that type of guy who was willing to help everybody.”

El Diamante honored the late Jones on Thursday afternoon in its 3-0 East Yosemite League win against Monache.

Before the game, the Miners paid tribute to Jones, giving his family an El Diamante framed No. 17 baseball jersey. Head coach Andrew Riddle’s program also unveiled a banner with his jersey number and a firefighter patch on the right field wall.

Jones’ older brother, Greg, threw out the first pitch, and his family, including dad John, joined in on the pre-game dedication along the third-base line.

“Truthfully, it’s difficult to explain with words, just them honoring Patrick, his memory, and his time here at El D,” John Jones said. “I just remember all the fun he used to have here. He loved baseball. He played football for fun, but he loved baseball. It’s really nice.”

Jones played in 55 games for El Diamante from 2011-12, starting at the left field as a senior. He never missed a single practice and finished his high school career hitting .274 with 27 runs scored, 12 RBI, and a double.

“He was a pesky lefty,” Flores said. “He was a left-handed hitter. He had some good speed. He could beat out a ground ball. He could run down balls in the outfield. He could steal some bags. He was the proverbial pesky lefty.”

The baseball culture at El Diamante has always extended beyond the diamond.

That’s a tradition Riddle wants to keep while he’s in charge.

 “We’re all family,” Riddle said. “We work hard. We’re not here to play baseball. We’re here to learn about life. Things that they can carry with them beyond baseball. That’s been instilled by coach Flores since the beginning, and he’s helped me with carrying that on.”

As the Jones family made their way to the right field for the unveiling, Foo Fighters’ “My Hero” was blasted throughout the ballpark speakers. That song request was made by Jones’ sister, Katie.

“It’s amazing,” John Jones said. “This means a lot to our family.”