Randy Jones was well known for working rapidly on the mound for the Padres, most notably against the Philadelphia Phillies and Jim Kaat in a 1977 game that took just 89 minutes to complete.
So Jones would have appreciated the brisk pace Saturday at Petco Park for the pitcher’s celebration of life, which clocked in at 77 minutes.
“We could spend hours reminiscing about stories of his life, his time in baseball, his charity work, his years within the Padres organization,” son-in-law Greg Fox said on behalf of the Jones family. “But I can hear him right now saying, ‘C’mon, Meat, get this over with.’ ”
Jones was never in a rush, however, when it came to engaging Padres fans at the ballpark.
“Anyone who has walked around Petco Park with Randy knows what normally takes five minutes took about 45,” Fox said. “You know, he’s always stopping, talking, having a laugh with Padres employees and fans alike, signing autographs with a warm hello and a gentle nature. Randy was a fan as much as he was a player.
“I remember asking him one time, ‘Does it ever get old signing autographs and taking pictures with all the fans?’ He looked at me and said, ‘My father once told me, ‘Be wary the day they don’t ask.’ But in all honesty, I think we all know deep down, Randy simply cherished this game, the ballclub and the fans and he wanted to give back to everyone what you all have given to him.”
Jones, who died on Nov. 18 at age 75, was part of the Padres organization for more than 50 years. The left-hander pitched for the Padres from 1973-80 and was the franchise’s first star. Jones was part of the inaugural Padres Hall of Fame class in 1999. Two years earlier, Jones was the franchise’s first player to have his No. 35 jersey retired.
Padres CEO Erik Greupner said Saturday that the team’s players and coaches will wear the left-hander’s number on the left sleeve of their jerseys this season. The number style is modeled after the jersey Jones wore in 1976 when he won the National League Cy Young Award.
Gruepner also noted that the franchise “will continue to honor Randy’s spirit and legacy” annually with the Randy Jones Community Champion Award, which is given to a Padres alum who has the biggest impact in the community.
Like a ballgame, the celebration of life began with the national anthem. Fitting for a team named Padres, it included a prayer. And, appropriately enough, it included nine speakers. They addressed a gathering estimated at more than 1,000 people from a stage located between the infield and outfield. Family and friends were seated in front of the stage. Fans, several in Jones jerseys, occupied two sections along the first base side.
Jones was noted several times during the event for going nine innings. During his Cy Young season in 1976, Jones did it 25 times. How remarkable is pitching that many complete games in a season? For perspective, there were 14 complete games in the National League last year. Cincinnati’s Nick Lodolo led the NL with two of them.
Jones was the shining star in the 1970s, while the Padres struggled during their first decade of existence. There was a time after games when fans exited to the song “Celebration” after a win, but more often to “(The Sun Will Come Out) Tomorrow” after a loss. Neither was played on this day. The celebration of life concluded, appropriately enough, with the Counting Crows’ song “Mr. Jones.”
While it took a decade before the Padres won more games than they lost in a season, it was a celebration most of the time when Jones pitched. This was especially true during the mid-1970s, when Jones was among baseball’s most dominating pitchers.
He became the Padres’ first 20-game winner in 1975 when he went 20-12 with a majors’ best 2.24 ERA. Jones became the franchise’s first Cy Young winner a year later when he went 22-14 with a 2.76 ERA. He led the NL that year in starts (40), complete games (25) and innings pitched (315 1/3), which all remain single-season franchise records. Jones closed out the 1975 All-Star Game for a save, then started the 1976 All-Star Game and got the win. No other pitcher has ever done that.
“Even though he wasn’t that tall,” Greupner said, “Randy Jones was a giant on the mound, in the San Diego community, and in the history of our franchise and the hearts and the lives of those of us that had the privilege of working with him for so many decades at the Padres.
“Petco Park is a less fun, less joyous, less spontaneous and less cantankerous place without RJ around. We will deeply miss him. He had the unique ability to make anyone he was talking to feel special. He was genuine, and he was real.”
Former Padres player and coach Tim Flannery came out with his guitar and harmonica and sang “Every Hello is a Goodbye,” after relating how Jones was so welcoming when Flannery joined the team in 1979 as a 21-year-old rookie. Flannery was among several former teammates at the celebration, along with Fred Kendall, Jones’ catcher for most of his starts, Broderick Perkins and Ruppert Jones.
Other former Padres included pitchers Andrew Cashner and Brian Lawrence, who were impacted by Jones during their careers, as well as Trevor Hoffman, Garry Templeton, Tony Gwynn Jr. and his mother, Alicia Gwynn.
Padres broadcaster Jesse Agler served as master of ceremonies for the celebration, noting that Jones was among the first people he met when he joined the organization 12 years ago and hosted a show called “Padres Social Hour.”
“Within hours of meeting him, I was getting an education,” Agler said. “An education on ostrich-skin cowboy boots, on bird dogs … I was a kid from Miami, I didn’t know anything about that.
“But, most importantly, on just throwing strikes. I think he was literal on that, but metaphorical as well. Randy quickly became an invaluable resource … He was the presence of positivity, a source of energy over a long season, and we realized very quickly how great of a teammate he was, always up for whatever was needed, and, in a very short time, he would become a dear friend as well.”
Former Padres broadcaster Bob Chandler remembered covering Jones’ major league debut in 1973. Padres manager Don Zimmer summoned Jones from the bullpen in the middle of a game the Padres trailed 7-2 against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium.
Jones pitched a 1-2-3 fifth inning. Padres third baseman Dave Roberts spoke to Jones as he took the mound for the sixth. Chandler said Roberts asked Jones if he knew who was up for the Mets? It was Willie Mays.
“Mays hit his first pitch,” Chandler said. “Randy claimed it was still going up when it went over the fence in center field.”
Zimmer gave Jones his first start a week later at San Diego Stadium against the Atlanta Braves.
Jones pitched a 1-2-3 first inning. Who led off the second inning? Hank Aaron, who hammered an 0-2 pitch for a homer.
“Hank’s home run might still be going over the center field fence,” Chandler said. “So Randy told me, ‘Well, I got that over with, didn’t I? Mays and Aaron hit the first home runs ever off of me.’
“But, you know, the home run by Aaron seemed to snap in for him, he told me, because the rest of the year, he became the Padres’ best starting pitcher. For a team that won 60 games and lost 102, Randy actually had a winning record, 7-6, with a good earned-run average, 3.16.”
Former Padres broadcaster Ted Leitner said his first job with the club in 1980 was hosting the Randy Jones TV pregame show. When the San Francisco Giants were in town, Leitner asked Willie McCovey if he would come on the show, but McCovey waved him off and said, “I’m busy. I’m busy.”
The next day, Leitner asked Jones to get the guest.
“So 60 seconds later, here he comes (with McCovey),” Leitner said.
“Why didn’t you tell me this was for Randy Jones?” Leitner said McCovey asked him. “I’d have come on. I would have done an hour with Randy Jones.”
From them on, Jones got the guests.
“And we had guests, my God,” said Leitner, mentioning Johnny Bench when the Cincinnati Reds came to town and Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and Pete Rose when the Philadelphia Phillies arrived. Leitner recalling Rose saying, “Well, I can’t hit the SOB, I might as well talk to him. … You know my numbers against him are like 10 of 90, or something.” Said Leitner: “No, Pete, 17 of 93. That’s a .183 average.’ And Pete said, ‘Thanks for that.’ ”
After the celebration, several fans stopped for photos next to Jones’ No. 35 display near Petco’s home plate gate entrance.
Padres fans Patrick Guerrero of Ladera Ranch and Frank Chavez of San Diego got to know Jones seven years ago in Peoria, Ariz., while attending Padres fantasy camps, where Jones served as de facto commissioner.
“Camp was his baby,” Chavez said. “Going through camp and getting to know him was just incredible. To actually go from a childhood hero to a friend was the most unbelievable thing to happen.”
San Diego’s Bob Lindahl, a Padres fan for the past 55 years, said: “I felt the need to be here. I just grew with the Padres, and my kids grew up going to Padres games. We still do. We was an original. … Randy was just a real personable guy.”