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Jones' Big Apple engagement a warm memory

Yankees newcomer thrilled to return to New York with wife of two years

When Garrett Jones was traded to the Yankees in December, he was immediately excited by the idea of wearing pinstripes. Yet there was probably no one more thrilled than Jones' wife, Cassie, who considers herself a diehard Yankees fan and thinks of New York as their second home.

Garrett and Cassie were married in January 2013, and their upcoming season together in the Big Apple promises to bring back warm memories of their engagement, which took place on an autumn afternoon in Central Park.

"We'd just finished up the season in Pittsburgh and drove to New York City," Jones said. "I planned it out to spend a few days there sightseeing, going to Broadway shows, going to comedy shows and just seeing the city. We had a beautiful day walking all through Central Park and I had an idea that I wanted to get engaged there, but I didn't know where or exactly how. I was just kind of doing it on the fly.

Courtesy Garrett Jones.

"I knew they had boats in the river there, and I thought that would be awesome. We ended up getting in line too late and they were shutting it down, so I was starting to panic a little bit. I had the ring box in my pocket the whole time, so I'm wondering if she's going to find it. We're walking around, and I ended up finding this bench on top of a little hill, and there was no one really around.

"I took her up there and we sat down, talked and it was a good moment. I got on one knee and asked her. It worked out great. She was totally shocked, and that's what I was going for. She was extremely happy, and we took a horse carriage back to the hotel. It was definitely a special moment and something we'll always have in our hearts for New York and Central Park as well."

Now that Jones is preparing for a summer in the city, he is looking forward to taking their son, Jaxon, to visit that special spot in the park.

"He's 3 now, and so I can be like, 'That's where I asked Mommy to marry me' and just kind of show him around," Jones said. "I know my son will be really excited to see the city. There's so many things we're super-excited about, on the field and just in the city."

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat.
Read More: New York Yankees, Garrett Jones