=======
Hacksaw’s Thursday Podcast..1:30pm
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Hot Topics on Table-Stay for Fans Forum
=======
“THE OLD LEFTHANDER…LEAVES”
=======
It was quite an era.
He was quite a pitcher
San Diego Padres fans are mourning the passing of Randy Jones.
Tony Gwynne was Mr Padre.
Randy Jones, the crafty lefty, was the first star Padre.
In an era that covered a decade of dominance on the mound, Randy Jones was so good on the mound for the Padres, in an era of bad baseball in San Diego.
The list of 1970’s greatness on the mound encompassed the likes of Steve Carlton, Tommy John, Ron Guidry, Catfish Hunter, Don Sutton, Vida Blue, Gaylord Perry, Tom Seaver and Jim Palmer.
Think about each of them and what they were known for, whom they pitched for, and the fact Randy Jones was likely on the mound when the Padres faced those legendary starters.
Jones went from (8-22) one year, to super stardom the next. He was a workhorse over his years in the rotation in San Diego; an All Star in San Diego, a free spirit in that clubhouse too.
From that dreadful season in 1974, he went (20-12) and then (22-14), marking maybe the two greatest years any Padres pitcher has had in its history.
The numbers are staggering. He made 34-36-40 starts in a 3-year window. He was an All Star. He threw 285-315 innings in back to back seasons. One season he went (16-3) in the first half of the season. He pitched in a game vs Jim Kaat, in which the two fast workers, finished the game in 1-hour-29 minutes.
Arm problems ended the run. He moved onto the Mets and within 3-years he retired. He finished with a (100-123) record…most of it in the Brown & Gold.
But Randy Jones stayed in San Diego. Became a broadcaster. Became a businessman. Became a Padres ambassador within the community.
He was beloved, he smiled, he laughed, he loved to talk old time baseball and modern day baseball. He was a friend to the fans, a confidante to the players.
And off the field, he was like he was on the mound. He scrapped and fought.
Whether it was failing health and his battle with throat cancer or business investments, he stood out there, challenging and pitching around the issues of life.
I close my eyes and hear him yack at me in the Press Box or the Dugout..’Hacksaw get over here’. Everyone listened to him, talked to him, wanted his autograph. I remember his smile. His radio-type voice. His knowledge.
I thought all day about him yesterday with an ache in my heart.
Randy Jones. Peter Seidler. Kevin Towers. Tony Gwynn. Jerry Coleman. We have lost some of the fabric of Friar baseball.
The crafty lefty I would call him. Good stuff and guile got it done on the mound and in his life. What a Padre pitcher. What a special person.
We think fondly of Randy Jones. The ‘ole lefthander’ rounding third, heading to home…to heaven.
===================
It became an event when he was on the mound!