Todd Barton Jones (born April 24, 1968) is an American former professional baseball

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was an effective

middle reliever In baseball, a middle reliever or middle relief pitcher, is a relief pitcher who typically pitches during the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings of a standard baseball game. In leagues with no designated hitter, such as in the National League prio ...

for several teams and also filled the role of closer, most notably with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

for whom he earned 235 saves. On September 16, , Jones became the 21st member of the 300- save club during his second stint with the Tigers.

Baseball career

Jones graduated from Osborne High School in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

and attended

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's, master's, education specialist, and doctorate degrees ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

. He was drafted by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

in the first round of

1989 Major League Baseball draft First-round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1989 Major League Baseball draft on June 5. Supplemental first round selections Other notable players * Brian Hunter, 2nd round, 35th overall by the Houston Astros * Ti ...

and made his major league debut during the season. Initially a setup reliever, Jones started being used as a closer for the Astros in the 1995 season. His best years came with the Detroit Tigers from –, when he logged 142 saves. On April 22, 1999, Jones earned career save number 100. On September 27, , Jones threw the last official pitch at Tiger Stadium, striking out

Carlos Beltrán Carlos Iván Beltrán (; born April 24, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1998 to 2017 for the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Fran ...

as the Tigers defeated the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

8–2. Jones' tenure as a Detroit Tiger peaked in 2000, when he converted 42 saves in 46 attempts, made his first and only AL All-Star team, and won the AL

Rolaids Relief Man Award The Rolaids Relief Man Award was an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given from 1976 to 2012 to the top relief pitchers of the regular season, one in the American League (AL) and one in the National League (NL). Relief pitchers enter t ...

. The 42 saves established a new Tigers team record, surpassing

John Hiller John Frederick Hiller (born April 8, 1943) is a Canadian former baseball relief pitcher who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers between 1965 and 1980. A native of Toronto, he joined the Tigers in 1965 and w ...

's 38 saves in 1973. The record would stand until 2011, when it was broken by

José Valverde José Rafael Valverde (born March 24, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets. He is nicknamed ...

. Jones could not continue his success into the 2001 season. After blowing 6 of his first 17 save opportunities, Jones lost his closer role and the Tigers traded him to the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

on July 28, 2001. After the 2001 season, Jones became a free agent and signed with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

. While playing for the Rockies in April , Jones made remarks criticized as anti-

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

comments during a discussion of the play '' Take Me Out''. Jones publicly apologized, but did not retract his comments. He shifted to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

midway through the season. He made his first career postseason appearance that year, pitching to three batters in Game 6 of the

ALCS The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...

as the third Red Sox pitcher against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

. In the sixth inning, he allowed a hit while garnering a strikeout and a walk before being taken out for

Alan Embree Alan Duane Embree (born January 23, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Embree played for the Cleveland Indians (1992–1996), Atlanta Braves (1997–1998), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998), San Francisco Giants (1999–2001), Ch ...

. The Red Sox won the game 9-6 with six pitchers used, but they lost the ALCS the next night. Jones left the Red Sox after the season. Following a season spent with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

, Jones signed a one-year contract with the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

. After an injury to incumbent closer Guillermo Mota, Jones took on the role for the first time since 2001. He finished the season with a 2.10 ERA and 40 saves, surpassing 200 career saves during this season. On December 8, 2005, Jones signed a two-year contract to return to the Tigers. In , he also participated in the inaugural

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

. On May 21, 2006, he became the Detroit Tigers' all-time leader in saves, passing Mike Henneman. Jones saved 37 games for the 2006 Tigers, who made the postseason for the first time since 1987. He would appear in seven postseason games for the Tigers: two in the

ALDS In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...

, three in the

, and two in the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

, pitching the ninth inning in each occasion. He converted four saves and allowed one total run (unearned) throughout the postseason. His last postseason appearance was Game 2 of the 2006 World Series, as he finished the only victory that the Tigers would garner against the St. Louis Cardinals. Jones retired with a postseason ERA of 0.00 in seven innings. On September 16, 2007, Jones worked out of a bases-loaded ninth-inning jam against the Minnesota Twins to earn his 300th career save, becoming the 21st member of baseball's 300 save club. The Tigers re-signed Jones to a one-year contract for the 2008 season. On July 27, Jones lost his role as Tigers' closer to

Fernando Rodney Fernando Rodney (born March 18, 1977) is a Dominican–American professional baseball pitcher for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Ta ...

. On September 25, 2008, the 40-year old Jones announced his retirement from Major League Baseball.

Pitching style

Jones was a finesse pitcher and showed good durability. In every season from through , he pitched in at least 51 games. His main pitch was a low-90s fastball that he could

sink A sink is a bowl-shaped plumbing fixture for washing hands, dishwashing, and other purposes. Sinks have a tap (faucet) that supply hot and cold water and may include a spray feature to be used for faster rinsing. They also include a drain t ...

cut Cut may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** Cut (ea ...

, and he pitched to contact. He only had one season (2000) in which he recorded more strikeouts than innings pitched. He also incorporated an occasional low-70s curve ball. Though he didn't have overpowering stuff, he kept hitters off-balance and rarely got rattled. He was a ground-ball pitcher, allowing only 22% fly balls over his career versus 47.2% ground balls.

Personal life

Jones is a devout Christian, and is known for using

Contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

music when entering from the bullpen. During the 2006 playoffs, he entered to "Last One Standing" by

MercyMe MercyMe is an American contemporary Christian music band founded in Edmond, Oklahoma. The band consists of lead vocalist Bart Millard, percussionist Robby Shaffer, bassist Nathan Cochran and guitarists Michael Scheuchzer and Barry Graul. The b ...

. Since 2002, Jones has been writing a weekly column, "The Closer", for ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' and Jones was on the cover of the baseball preview issue with the caption "Don't Tell columnist Todd Jones but (Beware of The Tigers)". Jones currently resides in

Pell City, Alabama Pell City is a city in and one of the county seats of St. Clair County, Alabama, United States, other seat being Ashville. At the 2020 census, the population was 12,939. At the 2010 census, the city-limit population jumped to 12,695. It was ho ...

with his wife Michelle and his son Alex (born October 7, 1994) and daughter Abby (born May 22, 1997). He currently works as an adviser for the local high school and middle school boys baseball teams, and occasionally appears as a guest analyst for the Detroit Tigers.

Awards and accomplishments

* All-Star (2000) * AL Relief Man of the Year (2000) * Led American League in saves (42 in 2000), which also established a Detroit Tigers' single-season record. The record stood until 2011, when it was broken by

. * Along with

Juan Rincón Juan Manuel Rincón (born January 23, 1979) is a Venezuelan professional baseball coach and former relief pitcher. Rincón bats and throws right-handed. He throws a low 90s fastball and a mid to low 80s slider. In his career, Rincón posted a .20 ...

, led MLB with 11 relief wins (2004) * Leads Florida Marlins in consecutive save conversions (27, 2005) * Ranked 14th in all-time saves (319) when he retired, and ranks 21st as of 2019 * Ranks first all-time among Detroit Tigers relievers with 235 saves * Made first World Series appearance in second stint with Tigers (2006) * Appeared on the cover of ''

'' (March/April 2007)

References

External links