Sheldon Leslie "Available" Jones (February 2, 1922 – April 18, 1991) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

player, a right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

who played in the Major Leagues from 1946 through 1953 for the New York Giants,

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

. He earned his nickname from a character in the

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written and drawn b ...

comic strip and because of his durability as both a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pitc ...

and a reliever early in his MLB career as a member of the Giants. The native of

Tecumseh, Nebraska Tecumseh is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,677 at the 2010 census. History Tecumseh was originally called Frances, and under the latter name was established in 1856. The label ...

, stood tall and weighed . Jones' professional career began in 1941 and was interrupted by three years of service (1943–45) in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during World War II. When he returned to baseball after the war, he posted back-to-back stellar seasons in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

, winning 32 of 44 decisions in 1946–47 before his permanent recall to the Giants. In 1948, Jones appeared in 55

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Baseball ...

(fourth that season among

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

pitchers), 21 as a starter and 34 in relief, worked in 201

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is ...

, and won 16 of 24

decision Decision may refer to: Law and politics * Judgment (law), as the outcome of a legal case *Landmark decision, the outcome of a case that sets a legal precedent * ''Per curiam'' decision, by a court with multiple judges Books * ''Decision'' (nove ...

s, with five saves and eight

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pit ...

s, while posting a

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

of 3.35. The following year, 1949, Jones was mostly a starter (27 of his 42 games). He appeared in 207 innings, won 15, lost 12, and had 11 complete games. He registered no saves, but still finished nine games, and lowered his ERA to 3.34. Finally, in 1950, Jones worked in 40 games, 28 as a starter. He logged 199 innings, 11 more complete games and two saves. He posted a losing record (13–16) and a 4.61 ERA. Jones pitched one more season in New York as a member of the 1951 National League pennant winners. In the

1951 World Series The 1951 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the New York Giants, who had won the National League pennant in a thrilling three-game playoff with the Brooklyn Dodgers on the legendary home run by Bobby ...

, Jones appeared in two contests and saved Game 3 for Giants' starter

Jim Hearn James Tolbert Hearn (April 11, 1921 – June 10, 1998) was an American professional baseball player, a pitcher in Major League Baseball for 13 seasons (1947–59). The right-hander was listed as tall and . Career Born in Atlanta, Hearn attended ...

. In World Series play, he allowed one

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop grou ...

in 4 innings pitched, posting an earned run average of 2.08, against the eventual champion

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 o ...

. Jones wrapped up his MLB career with 61 games played, mostly in relief, for the Braves and Cubs. All told he surrendered 909

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

and 413

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Sec ...

(and amassed the same number of

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

) in 920 innings pitched during his Major League tenure. Of his 260 games pitched, 101 were as a starter and 159 came in relief. He finished with 12 saves.

References

External links

SABR biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Sheldon 1922 births 1991 deaths Baseball players from Nebraska Boston Braves players Chicago Cubs players Fort Smith Giants players Jacksonville Tars players Jersey City Giants players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Giants (NL) players Oklahoma City Indians players People from Tecumseh, Nebraska Salina Millers players Springfield Cubs players United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II