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Randy Jones, the southpaw who won the National League Cy Young Award in 1976, died Tuesday at age 75.
Jones made his MLB debut with the San Diego Padres in 1973 and impressed as a rookie with a 3.16 ERA in 20 appearances, 19 of them starts. After going 8-22 in his second season, he bounced back with an NL-leading 2.24 ERA in 1975, earning his first All-Star nod and finishing second in the Cy Young Award vote behind Tom Seaver.
The following season, he racked up an MLB-leading 315.1 innings, and while five others in the National League had a higher ERA than his 2.74, he led the majors with 25 complete games, and his 1.03 WHIP was also the best mark in the National League. His 22 wins also led the majors, and all that was enough to beat out Jerry Koosman. Don Sutton finished third, Steve Carlton was fourth, and Seaver fell to eighth.
In his final game of that magical season, he injured a nerve in his left arm and was never quite able to return to form. Despite a 2.88 ERA in 1978, he finished with an ERA higher than 4.50 in three of his final six seasons. Jones joined the New York Mets for his final two seasons in 1981 and 1982.
Jones was not known for striking out batters. In fact, he had only 93 strikeouts in his Cy Young Award-winning season, and his career best was 124 in 1974. He remains the only pitcher ever to win a Cy Young Award but have a losing record for his career. Four times, he was in the top 10 in innings pitched, walks per nine innings, starts, and home runs per nine innings.
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“With deep sorrow and heavy hearts, the Padres mourn the passing of our beloved left-hander, Randy Jones. Randy was a cornerstone of our franchise. The CY Young Award winner, Padres Hall of Famer, and tremendous community ambassador, was a giant in our lives and will be greatly missed,” the Padres said in a statement.
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Jones’ No. 35 was retired by the Padres in 1997, and he was a member of the team’s inaugural Hall of Fame class two years later. He is widely credited with putting the expansion franchise on the map, as the team struggled mightily throughout his tenure, but he provided a spark in dark days.
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