By: BRIANNAH PERRY
Staff Writer
Patrick Jones was a firefighter and former baseball player that had an impactful effect on many people. Jones tragically lost his life 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 was 25 years old and was a 2012 El Diamante grad. Bert Flores was Jones’ baseball coach at El Diamante at the time and had a lot of respect for him and the positive attitude he brought to the field. Jones played in 55 games for El Diamante from 2011-12 and started as a left fielder. Flores stated, “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” Flores had a son named Aaron who had down syndrome and Jones would shield Aaron from getting hit by the baseballs and always looked after him. On Thursday, March 23rd, El Diamante honored Jones in the East Yosemite League win against Monache. Before the game, the Miners paid tribute to Jones and gave his family a number 17 baseball jersey in a frame. The head coach Andrew Riddle also put up a banner with his jersey number along with a firefighter patch as well.