Baseball fans are mourning the loss of legendary San Diego Padres pitcher Randy Jones.
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The Padres announced the 75-year-old’s Tuesday death in a statement today honoring the 1976 National League Cy Young Award winner. No cause of death was given.
“With deep sorrow and heavy hearts, the Padres mourn the passing of our beloved left-hander, Randy Jones,” the team wrote on Instagram. “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.”
“I’m heartbroken. Got to meet him about 5 years back, and he was just the best. So kind. So fun,” one baseball fan wrote in the comments section. “Rest in Peace to Randy, a true San Diego and Padres baseball legend!! He will be missed! So kind to the fans,” another fan echoed. “RIP to an absolute San Diego legend. Loved hearing his stories!” a third fan added.
Randy Jones Became the First Padre to Win a Cy Young Award
According to ESPN, Jones spent eight seasons with San Diego and two with the New York Mets, finishing with a 100-123 record and a 3.42 ERA. He remains the Padres’ all-time leader in starts (253), complete games (71), shutouts (18), and innings pitched (1,766).
Jones was one of the league’s best pitchers in 1975 and 1976, making two All-Star teams. He was the first Padre to win the Cy Young Award after the team joined MLB as an expansion club in 1969.
In 1975, he was runner-up to Tom Seaver for the Cy Young Award, posting a 20-12 record and leading the NL with a 2.24 ERA on a Padres team that managed only 71 wins. A year later, he won the award. Jones posted a major-league-best 22 wins, 315 1/3 innings pitched, 40 starts, and 25 complete games for a team that only won 73 games.
The Choice Tactic From the Baseball Legend Earned Him the Nickname “Junkman”
Jones earned the save in the 1975 All-Star Game and the win in the 1976 contest. After an arm injury in his final 1976 start, he never regained his top form but continued as a major league starter with the Mets until 1982.
Known as “Junkman,” Jones relied on deception rather than velocity to force ground balls. His stats reflect a different era: across 285 starts and 1,933 innings, he recorded only 735 strikeouts—including just 93 during his Cy Young campaign.
After his playing career, Jones returned to San Diego County. There, he became a beloved ambassador for the Padres, both at games and within the community. A barbecue restaurant named after him, originally at the Padres’ former home, Qualcomm Stadium, later moved with the team to Petco Park.
In 2017, Jones revealed he had throat cancer, attributed to his longtime use of chewing tobacco. However, by 2018, he announced he was cancer-free.
The Padres retired Jones’ No. 35 in 1997, and he was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 1999.