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Randy Jones (baseball)

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Randy Jones
Jones with the Padres in 1977
Pitcher
Born: (1950-01-12) January 12, 1950 (age 75)
Fullerton, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Left
MLB debut
June 16, 1973, for the San Diego Padres
Last MLB appearance
September 7, 1982, for the New York Mets
MLB statistics
Win–loss record100–123
Earned run average3.42
Strikeouts735
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Randall Leo Jones (born January 12, 1950), nicknamed "Junkman", is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and New York Mets. Jones won the Cy Young Award with San Diego in 1976. The Padres retired his No. 35.

He was known for his sinker and the large number of ground-ball outs he induced. He was inducted into the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame.

Early life and college

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Jones was born on January 12, 1950, in Fullerton, California. He attended Brea-Olinda High School in Brea, California, and Chapman University in Orange, California.[1][2] He was Chapman's top pitcher for three years, and was named an All-American as a senior.[3]

From 1969-72 at Chapman, Jones won 27 games, and was named the team's most valuable player each year. In his All-American senior year, Chapman had 38 wins and was the runner-up at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Far West Regionals. He set school records for strikeouts in a season with 155 in 1972, and career strikeouts with 311.[4]

He was inducted into the Chapman Athletics Hall of Fame in 1980.[4]

Professional baseball career

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Jones was selected by the San Diego Padres in the fifth round of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft.[4] In 1972, the Padres assigned to the Single-A Tri-City Padres, where he played in one game, and the Double-A Alexandria Aces where he started 11 games.[5] He only had a 3–5 won–loss record with Alexandria, but had a 2.91 earned run average (ERA) and 63 strikeouts in 68 innings pitched.[6] He began 1973 in Alexandria, where he had a 8–1 record, 2.01 ERA, three complete games, one shutout and 67 strikeouts in 67 innings.[7]

He made his major league debut with the Padres on June 16, 1973, pitching 1.1 innings as a relief pitcher.[8] He started every other game in which he appeared that year (19), and had a 7–6 record, with a 3.16 ERA in his rookie season.[9]

In 1974, Jones went 8–22 with a 4.45 ERA.[9] His 22 loses were tied for worst in the National League, his .267 winning percentage was third worst, and his ERA was well below the league average 3.63.[10] He was able to turn it around in 1975 when he won 20 games and led the National League with a 2.24 ERA, earning The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. He felt that he should have been a contender for the 1975 Cy Young Award but lost out due to a lack of exposure from the media.[11] His best season was in 1976,[12] where he survived a car crash, went 22–14 with a 2.74 ERA, started the All-Star Game, won the National League Cy Young Award,[11] and was named The Sporting News NL Pitcher of the Year. He was selected as the left-handed pitcher on The Sporting News NL All-Star Teams after the 1975 and 1976 seasons. At the All-Star break in July 1976, Jones' record was 16–3.[13][14] a win total that no one has equaled since. He also had the most complete games and had pitched over 300 innings in the 1976 season.[11]

Jones in 1978

Jones owns the distinction of recording a save for the NL in the 1975 All-Star Game and being the starting and winning pitcher the next year. During his last start of the 1976 season, he injured a nerve in his pitching arm that required exploratory surgery, and he was never quite able to regain his Cy Young form.

Jones pitched effectively for San Diego through the 1980 season. On December 15, 1980, he was traded to the New York Mets for José Moreno and John Pacella. After two years, Jones was released by the Mets,[15] and signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was released by the Pirates before the 1983 season started, thus ending his playing career.

His career win–loss record was just 100–123 (.448); he remains the only starting pitcher to win a Cy Young Award but retire with a losing record. He was named an All-Star in 1975 and 1976. After his retirement, Jones' uniform No. 35 was retired by the Padres on May 9, 1997.[16]

Post-playing career

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Jones's No. 35, retired by the Padres, displayed at Petco Park.

After retiring from Major League Baseball, Jones has coached young pitchers. His most prominent pupil was Barry Zito,[17] a former Major League pitcher and the 2002 Cy Young Award winner while with the Oakland Athletics.

In 1996, Jones was inducted by the San Diego Hall of Champions into the Breitbard Hall of Fame.[18] He was inducted as part of the inaugural class of the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame in 1999.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Randy Jones MLB Baseball Statistics | The Baseball Cube". www.thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  2. ^ DiGiovanna, Mike (March 4, 1985). "Former Padre Ace Randy Jones Changes Suits but Still Has a Good Pitch". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  3. ^ Evans, Jim Tal (May 5, 2016). "Jones endures as a Padre icon - Escondido Times-Advocate". Escondido Times-Advocate. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Randy Jones (1980) - Chapman Athletics Hall of Fame (est. 1979)". Chapman University. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  5. ^ "Randy Jones Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  6. ^ "Randy Jones Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  7. ^ "1973 Alexandria Aces Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  8. ^ "San Diego Padres vs New York Mets Box Score: June 16, 1973". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Randy Jones Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  10. ^ "1974 National League Standard Pitching". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c Jones 'survives' to win NL Cy Young award, web: The Salina Journal, 1976, retrieved March 13, 2023
  12. ^ Fimrite, Ron (July 12, 1976). "Uncommon success for a common man". Sports Illustrated. p. 20. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021.
  13. ^ "SD wins as Jones gets 16th". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. July 9, 1976. p. 25.
  14. ^ "Jones gets No. 16 despite the witch". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. July 9, 1976. p. 2D.
  15. ^ "Mets Release Randy Jones". The New York Times. November 6, 1982. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  16. ^ Lin, Dennis (April 21, 2014). "Randy Jones put Padres on the map". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  17. ^ Kepner, Tyler (November 8, 2002). "BASEBALL; Zito Beats Martínez to Win First Cy Young Award". The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  18. ^ San Diego Sports Association - Breitbard Hall of Fame
  19. ^ "Padres Hall of Fame". padres.mlb.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014.
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