Tracy Donald Jones was born March 31st, 1961, in Hawthorne, California. Jones was a standout baseball player at Lawndale high school and would go on to play outfield for Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Tracy would be drafted by the New York Mets in the 4th round of the 1982 amateur draft, but he did not sign. In January of 1983, Jones was selected as the first overall pick of the secondary phase of the amateur draft by the Cincinnati Reds.
