Randy Jones Was the San Diego Padres' First Star Player

Randy Jones, best known for winning the 1976 NL Cy Young Award with the San Diego Padres, passed away yesterday at the age of 75.

Although no cause of death was released, Jones was diagnosed with throat cancer in November 2016.

Following a distinguished collegiate career at Chapman University, Jones was selected by the San Diego Padres in the fifth round of the 1972 MLB Draft. Jones would make his big-league debut with the Padres the next season. 

His rookie season was decent going 7-6 with a 3.16 ERA in 20 appearances including 19 starts. However, Jones would struggle in 1974 tied for NL lead in losses with 22 along with Steve Rogers of the Montreal Expos and Bill Bonham of the Chicago Cubs.

But in 1975 and 1976, Jones was arguably the best pitcher in the NL, if not all of MLB. In 1975, Jones went 20-12 leading the NL with a 2.24 ERA finishing runner up in NL Cy Young balloting to future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver who won his 3rd and final NL Cy Young. Jones would claim Cy Young honors in 1976 with a 22-14 record with a 2.74 ERA. He led the Senior Circuit in wins along with innings pitched (315.1), starts (40) and complete games (25). 

Perhaps most remarkably, Jones only struck out 93 batters in those 315.1 innings while walking 50. The short southpaw got hitters out with a sinker-slider combination. At one point, Jones went 68 innings without issuing a single walk tying a NL record set by Christy Matthewson in 1913. The record was eclipsed by Greg Maddux in 2001 with 72.1 consecutive innings without issuing a bases on balls.

Unfortunately for Jones, his time at the top was only two seasons. In his final start of that 1976 season, Jones injured a nerve in his pitching arm which required surgery and he would never be the same pitcher. Over the next four seasons in San Diego, Jones went 38-51.

Prior to the 1981 season, the Padres traded Jones to the New York Mets for utility man Jose Moreno and journeyman pitcher John Pacella. Jones went 8-18 for the moribund Mets over the next two seasons. He would retire after being released by the Pittsburgh Pirates late in spring training in 1983. In 10 MLB seasons, Jones went 100-123 with a 3.42 ERA in 305 appearances (285 of them starts). In addition to his NL Cy Young, Jones was named to the NL All-Star Team in 1975 and 1976 earning a save in the former contest and the win in the latter.

For the next four plus decades, Jones was a fixture in San Diego establishing his own BBQ at Jack Murphy Stadium and later at Petco Park. Jones was also a mentor to pitcher Barry Zito who would become a Cy Young winner in his own right while with the Oakland Athletics in 2002.

Jones' greatest legacy in baseball was becoming the very first star player on the San Diego Padres. Other greats notably Dave Winfield, Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman would follow. But Jones was the first star San Diego fans would get behind during their lean years. And they remained behind him. R.I.P.