Randy Jones (baseball): Difference between revisions

{{short description|American baseball player (born 1950)}}

|image=RandyJonesByPhilKonstantinRandy Jones - San Diego Padres.jpg

|caption=Randy Jones with the Padres in 2009.1977

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

Jones attended [[Brea-Olinda High School]] in [[Brea, California]], {{citation needed|date=February 2011}} and [[Chapman University]] in [[Orange, California]].<ref>{{citecitation webneeded|url=http://baseball-fever.com/archive/index.php/t-895.html|title=Baseball Fever stats|website=baseball-fever.com|access-date=4November October 20182023}}</ref> He was known for his [[sinker (baseball)|sinker]] and the large number of ground-ball outs he induced. He was inducted into the [[San Diego Padres Hall of Fame]].

In [[1974 San Diego Padres season|1974]], Jones went 8–22 with a 4.45 ERA. He was able to turn it around in [[1975 San Diego Padres season|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|''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.<ref name="SJ" /> His best season was in [[1976 San Diego Padres season|1976]],<ref name=uncsuc>{{cite magazine |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1976/07/12/uncommon-success-for-a-common-man |magazine=Sports Illustrated |last=Fimrite |first=Ron |author-link=Ron Fimrite |title=Uncommon success for a common man |date=July 12, 1976 |page=20}}</ref> where he was survived a car crash, went 22–14 with a 2.74 ERA, started the [[1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]], won the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] [[Cy Young Award]],<ref name="SJ">{{Citation| last =| first =| year =1976| title =Jones 'survives' to win NL Cy Young award| publisher=The Salina Journal| publication-place = web | page=| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/44029900/?terms=%22Jerry%20Simmons%22%20%22fort%20hays%20state%22&match=1 |trans-title=| access-date = 13 March 2023}}</ref> and was named [[The Sporting News NL Pitcher of the Year|''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 {{mlby|1976}}, Jones' record was 16–3,.<ref name=sdwajg>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HSFOAAAAIBAJ&pg=5719%2C3064106 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=SD wins as Jones gets 16th |date=July 9, 1976 |page=25}}</ref><ref name=despiw>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xqtVAAAAIBAJ&pg=6578%2C2151531 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon) |agency=wire service reports |title=Jones gets No. 16 despite the witch |date=July 9, 1976 |page=2D}}</ref> a win total that no one has equaled since.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://baseballbiography.com/randy-jones-1950|title=Randy Jones from the Chronology|access-date=2009-09-07|publisher=baseballbiography.com}}</ref> He also had the most complete games and had pitched over 300 innings in the 1976 season.<ref name="SJ" />

==Post-playing career: coaching and catering==

After retiring from Major League Baseball, Jones has coached young pitchers. His most prominent pupil was [[Barry Zito]],<ref>{{cite news| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9501E5D81631F93BA35752C1A9649C8B63 | work=The New York Times | title=BASEBALL; Zito Beats Martínez to Win First Cy Young Award | first=Tyler | last=Kepner | date=November 8, 2002 | access-date=May 22, 2010}}</ref> a former Major League pitcher and the 2002 [[Cy Young Award]] winner while with the [[Oakland Athletics]]. He also is the owner of Randy Jones All American Grill, Randy Jones Big Stone Lodge,(now permanently closed) the home of his [[catering]] business Randy Jones Buckboard Catering. The Big Stone Lodge sells a [[barbecue sauce]] that bears Jones' name.<ref>{{cite web|title=Randy Jones BBQ Sauce|url=http://www.randyjonesbbq.com/bbqsauce.php|website=randyjonesbbq.com|access-date=November 3, 2014}}</ref> Jones also owned the Randy Jones carwash in Poway in the late 70s and early 1980s. Randy is involved in the [[San Diego Padres]] local radio broadcast pregame and postgame show.

In 1996, Jones was inducted by the [[San Diego Hall of Champions]] into the Breitbard Hall of Fame.<ref>[https://websandiegosportsassociation.archive.orgcom/web/20091002174355/http://www.sdhoc.comhall-of-fame/awardsperson/?first_name=Randy&last_name=Jones&r=hall-of-fame/baseball-inductee/randy-jones/ Breitbard Hall of Fame] honoring San Diego's finestSports athletesAssociation both- onBreitbard andHall offof the playing surface.[https:Fame]<//web.archive.org/web/20091002174355/http://www.sdhoc.com/awards/hall-of-fame/baseball/randy-jones/]ref> He was inducted as part of the inaugural class of the [[San Diego Padres Hall of Fame]] in 1999.<ref>{{cite web|title=Padres Hall of Fame|work=padres.mlb.com|url=http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/sd/history/sd_padres_hof.jsp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140816175529/http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/sd/history/sd_padres_hof.jsp|archive-date=August 16, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Category:National League (baseball) wins champions]]

[[Category:SportspeopleBaseball players from Fullerton, California]]