He was known for his sinker and the large number of ground-ball outs he induced,and his exceptional control. He was inducted into the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame.
During high school,Jones suffered tendinitis in his pitching arm,which recurred during his junior season at Chapman. He could no longer pitch with the same velocity,but developed the ability to set up hitters with excellent control,moving pitches to different parts of the plate,and altering pitching speeds. Jones came to rely on his sinker and slider,rather than fastballs.[4]
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. Jones set school records for strikeouts in a season with 155 in 1972,and career strikeouts with 311.[5]
He was inducted into the Chapman Athletics Hall of Fame in 1980.[5]
Jones's Double-A pitching coach Warren Hacker suggested Jones work on developing his sinker,which proved successful for Jones. Over the ensuing years,he would develop techniques that added to his deceptiveness in throwing velocity,and durability,as a pitcher. Jones nickname as a Padre would be "Junk Man".[9]
He made his major league debut with the Padres on June 16,1973,pitching 1.1 innings as a relief pitcher.[10] 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.[11] In 1974,Jones went 8–22 with a 4.45 ERA.[11] His 22 loses were tied for worst in the National League,his .267 winning percentage was third worst,and his ERA was well above the league average 3.63.[12]
He was able to turn it around in 1975 when he won 20 games and led the National League with a 2.24 ERA,[11][13] earning The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award.[14] Jones was second in wins and WAR (wins above replacement) (7.5) among pitchers,only behind future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver (22 wins and 7.8 WAR).[13][15] Seaver finished first in the Cy Young Award voting,receiving 15 first place votes to Jones's seven.[16] Jones felt that he should have been a contender to win the 1975 Cy Young Award but lost out due to a lack of exposure from the media.[17] He was selected to the 1975 NL All-Star team,[18] and finished 10th in NL Most Valuable Player voting.[16]
His best season was in 1976,[19] when he survived a car crash,went 22–14 with a 2.74 ERA,started the All-Star Game against Mark "the Bird" Fidrych,[20] won the NL Cy Young Award,[17] and was named The Sporting News NL Pitcher of the Year.[21] He was selected as the left-handed pitcher on The Sporting News NL All-Star Teams after the 1975 and 1976 seasons.[citation needed] At the All-Star break in July 1976,Jones' record was 16–3.[22][23] a win total that no one has equaled since. In 1976,Jones led the NL in wins,had the most complete games with 25 (eight more than the next closest pitcher),and led the league in innings pitched (315.1). He was tied for second with five shutouts.[17][24]
In 1976,he tied inaugural Hall of Fame inductee and pitching legend Christy Mathewson's[25][26] National League record of 68 consecutive innings without allowing a base on balls.[27] Their NL record was broken in 2001 by Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux.[28][29]
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.[30][31] During his last start of the 1976 season,he injured a nerve in his pitching arm that required surgery,and he was never quite able to regain his Cy Young form.[32] Post-surgery,in 1977 he pitched less than half the number of innings he had pitched a year earlier,and ended up with a 6–12 record and 4.58 ERA.[11]
Jones pitched effectively for San Diego in 1978-79,with records of 13–14 and 11–12,2.88 and 3.63 ERAs and 263 and 257 innings pitched,respectively in those years.[11] In 1980,his record fell to 5–13,with a 3.91 ERA in only 154.1 innings pitched.[11] On December 15,1980,he was traded to the New York Mets for JoséMoreno and John Pacella.[33] After two years,Jones was released by the Mets,[34] and signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was released by the Pirates before the 1983 season started,thus ending his playing career.[33]
After retiring from Major League Baseball,Jones has coached young pitchers. His most prominent pupil was Barry Zito,[35] a former Major League pitcher and the 2002 Cy Young Award winner while with the Oakland Athletics.[36]
Legacy
His career win–loss record was just 100–123 (.448),but had a lifetime 3.42 ERA.[11] His sinker,which "dropped like an anvil",was his default pitch that induced batters to hit ground balls.[4] Jones remains the only starting pitcher to win a Cy Young Award but retire with a losing record.[27]
After his retirement,Jones' uniform No. 35 was retired by the Padres on May 9,1997.[4] His starts at home for San Diego would spike attendance by the thousands,and the crowd began a tradition on Opening Day in 1976 of greeting him with a pregame ovation.[37][38] In its first six years of existence (1969-74),the Padres franchise never won more than 63 games,but then won over 70 games in Jones's two peak years (1975-76);and Jones is credited with putting the Padres "on the map".[39][9]
After retiring from play,Jones ran a restaurant and catering business in San Diego.[4] He also operated a string of carwashes in San Diego.[32]
In 2016,he was diagnosed with throat cancer,likely caused by years of using chewing tobacco. His treatment was successful and he was clear of cancer the following year.[42][43][44]
His post-career projects include the Randy Jones Run/Walk that raises money for Home of Guiding Hands,an organization benefitting the developmentally disabled in the San Diego area,with which Jones has worked for many years.[44]
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