Randy Jones: Former N.L. Cy Young Winner & Early Eighties Mets Pitcher (1981 - 1982)

Randall Leo Jones was born January 12, 1950, in Fullerton, California located in Northern Orange County. The tall six-foot lefty was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the fifth round of the 1972 draft.

Randy only spent parts of two seasons in the minors. In 1973 he blew through AA ball with an 8-1 record & 2.01 ERA getting promoted up to a needy Padres pitching staff.

MLB Career: On June 16th Jones made his MLB debut at Shea Stadium pitching in relief of a 10-2 Mets win by Jerry Koosman. In his debut Jones gave up a 6th inning HR to 42 year old Willie Mays, Willie's 656th career HR, third most all time at that point in history. Shea Stadium would never be friendly to Jones as it was his worst ballpark statistically.

On July 3rd, he made his first start & earned his firs career win coming at Dodger Stadium in a 4-1 win over Tommy John. Jones would win back-to-back starts & taking wins in three of four decisons thru August.

In 1973 he went an overall 7-6 with a 3.16 ERA for a Padres team that lost 102 games under
manager Don Zimmer. 

Junkman Moniker: Not an overpowering pitcher, he soon became known with the nickname “The Junkman”.

In 1974 he led the league in losses (22) going 8-22 on a Padre team that lost 102 games for the second straight year, this time under manager John McNamara. That year jones had losing streaks of four straight to begin the season, then five straight from May into June. The year got worse as he lost seven straight including going 1-8 in the final two months. Overall, he threw over 208 innings while striking out 124 batters while posting a 4.45 ERA.

Comeback Player of the Year: Somehow Jones turned it all around in 1975 & won the NL Comeback pitcher of the Year Award. On Opening Day he held the Giants scoreless on four-hits thru nine innings but the Padres lost the game in extra innings.

Shut Outs: He won his next two starts including a six hit shut out over the Astros in Houston. On May 8th he pitched a four hit shut out over the eventual World Champion Reds at Riverfront Stadium. On May 19th, he pitched a one-hit ten inning shut out over the Cardinals beating John Curtis 1-0. On May 24th he added third shut out of the month in a win over the Pirates.

By the end of the first half of the season he was 11-6 with one of the league's best ERAs at 2.25. 

1975 All Star: Jones made the All-Star team earning the save for the NL pitching a scoreless 9th inning, retiring the Minnesota Twins Rod Carew for the last out in the win at Milwaukee.

The 1975 Padres won 71 games (71-91) finishing in fourth place under manager John McNamara, Jones finished with 20 wins himself (20-12) the second most victories in the NL. Jones also led the league with a 2.24 ERA, was second with 18 complete games & in shut outs (6). He had the second-best walks per nine innings ratios at 1.76 & made 36 starts. That year he was second in the NL Cy Young voting to Tom Seaver. 

Cy Young Season: In the bicentennial year, the Padres had their first winning season since having come into the league in 1969. The fans came out most when Jones was pitching. That year he won the Cy Young Award beating out the Mets Jerry Koosman. 

Kooz Trivia: Many Mets fans believed Koosman should have won the Award; he was 21-10 (second in wins) with three shutouts, 17 complete games, a 2.69 ERA (4th in the NL) & 200 strikeouts (3rd in the NL) in 247 innings pitched.

Jones led the league in wins (22) complete games (25) starts (40) and an incredible 315 innings pitched. His 2.76 ERA was sixth in the league behind some very good pitchers.

"The junkman" only struck out 93 batters & in his career never had more than 124 strikeouts in a season.  Jones was known to have low pitch counts & move games along quickly, with most starts averaging just around two hours.

NL Records: That season Jones set a record for most chances by a pitcher without an error (112), posting a perfect fielding percentage (1.000.) He also tied the NL pitchers season record for the most double plays with twelve.

Jones began the year at 4-0, in May he pitched five straight complete games besting his record to 9-2. In June he shut out the Mets at Jack Murphy Stadium allowing seven hits in a 3-0 win over the reigning Cy Young winner, Tom Seaver.

1976 All Star: Randy was 16-3 at the All Star break and got the start against Mark the Bird Fidrych at the All-Star game in Philadelphia. He pitched three scoreless innings allowing just two hits earning the victory for the NL.

Jones had a rough August 2-6 & a rough September as well 2-4. At the end of the season, he injured a nerve in his pitching arm and required surgery. He was never the same pitcher, going just 6-12 the next season with a 4.58 ERA pitching 27 games.

Jones then had two under .500 seasons, pitching on the staff behind future Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry. In 1978 Jones was 13-14 but lowered his ERA to 2.88 on a Padre team that was 84-78 finishing fourth. That year the veteran Perry won twenty one games, winning twenty or more for the fifth time in his career. In 1979 he was 11-12 second on the staff to Gaylord Perry (12 wins) with a 3.63 ERA.

In 1980 he was the Opening Day winning pitcher. In May he tossed three straight complete game shut outs, before suffering a nerve injury. He tried to pitch thru it but lost six straight decisions. From June 14th -July 10th Jones lost a month of action. He then went out again from August 22nd through September. That season he went 5-13 with a 3.91 ERA in 24 starts.

On December 15, 1980, Jones was traded to the New York Mets, for John Pacella and minor leaguer Jose Moreno.

Mets Career: On April 11th, Randy Jones made his Mets debut at Wrigley Field in the third game of the 1981 season. It was his finest start of the season as he pitched six innings allowing just one run on three hts. He took no decision in the 3-1 loss.

From April 18th thru May 10th, Randy lost five straight decisions, giving up 27 runs although just 15 of them were earned in 23.2 innings (5.70 ERA). In four of the five starts the Met defense made two or more errors.

On May 31st, he earned his first Mets victory, beating the Cubs at Shea Stadium, allowing just one run in 5.2 innings of work. Dave Kingman hit a HR & drove in two of the runs.

Jones then lost three straight games, although he pitched well in two of the starts. On June 5th, he pitched six innings allowing two runs at Houston but was beaten by Nolan Ryan who threw a five hit shutout striking out ten Mets. 

In his next start, Jones held the Reds down to ne run into the 8th inning at Shea Stadium. In the top of the 8th on a Dave Concepcion added an RBI single as Jones exited allowing two runs on five hits. But the Reds Mario Soto shut out the Mets 2-0  while striking out twelve. 

Players Strike: After the 1981 Players Strike, he returned in September for two more appearances. On September 6th he made his last start of the year, taking a loss to the Braves. he made one more appearance in relief.

Randy finished the year at 1-8 with a 4.85 ERA. He struck out 14 batters walking 38 in 59 innings pitched in 13  appearances (12 starts).

1982: Mets manager George Bamberger gave Jones the Opening Day start in Philadelphia. Jones beat Phillies veteran Hall of Famer Steve Carlton allowing just one run in six innings of work. 

On April 13th, in his next start he beat Carlton & the Phillies again at Shea Stadium, as Dave Kingman homered & drove in three runs in the 5-2 win to get to 2-0.

In his next two starts, he gave up four earned runs to the Expos each time, taking one losing decision. On April 28th in his old stomping grounds at San Diego, Jones gave up four runs all unearned as the Mets made four errors in the game. In that game Jones hit Padres catcher Terry Kennedy twice with pitches. He got no decision in the 15 inning Mets win.

On May 2nd, in the night cap of a double header in San Francisco, Jones pitched eight innings of shutout ball as the Mets beat the Giants 3-1, as he went to 3-1. 

Complete Game Win: On May 10th at Shea Stadium, Jones threw a complete game victory against his old Padres team, allowing two runs on seven hits, fanning three besting his record to 4-1 with a 2.60 ERA. it was his first shut out since 1979 & the 19th of his career.

On May 18th, although he gave up four runs, he earned the win over the Reds at Shea Stadium. 

Shea Stadium Not Friendly to Randy: Although Jones had won two straight decisions at Shea Stadium, the ball park was never a place he did well. That season he went 3-8 at Shea with a 7.87 ERA as opposed to 4-2 & a 42.47 ERA on the road. In his career Randy 7-19 at Shea with his highest ERA of any ball park he pitched in at 5.96.

Shut Out: On May 23rd, in Houston he threw his best career Mets game, a four hit shut out, with a season high six strikeouts in the 2-0 win over the Astros Joe Niekro.

He had a fantastic May going 4-2 with a 2.74 ERA, pitching seven or more innings in all but one of his seven starts. Jones entered June with a 6-3 record & 3.07 ERA. 

From May 28th thru July he would lose six straight decisions allowing 31 runs (27 earned) in 25 innings of work with a 9.72 ERA. to fall to 6-8. By late July he made three relief appearances.

Final Career Victory: On August 6th, in the nightcap of a double header split in Pittsburgh, Randy earned his final career win beating the Pirates allowing two runs in seven innings of work while striking out five. 

His final five appearances were all in relief, taking a loss then making just one appearance in September.

Jones finished the season going 7-10 posting a 4.60 ERA with 44 strike outs & 51 walks in 107.2 innings pitched, for the last place team. The Mets released him that winter, ending his playing career.

Career Stats: In ten career seasons he went 100-123 with a 3.42 ERA. He posted 735 strikeouts with 503 walks in 1933 innings in 305 appearances (285 starts).

Jones pitched 73 complete games with 19 shut outs to his credit. 

Trivia:  Randy Jones is the only Cy Young Award winner to have a career losing record.

Family: Randy married his high school sweetheart Marie Stassi, together they had two children.

Retirement: He is the owner of Randy Jones Big Stone Lodge, the home of his catering business that sells a famous Randy Jones BBQ sauce. Randy also owned a string of car washes & was a food broker.

In San Diego’ s Petco Park he has a concession stand named after him called the Randy Jones BBQ. He also does Padres local radio broadcast for pregame shows.

Jones was inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions and has his number retired by the Padre team as well.

Passing: Randy passed away in November 2025 at age 75.