Todd Jones

Todd Barton Jones (born April 24, 1968 in in Marietta, Georgia) is a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who plays with the Detroit Tigers. He bats left-handed and throws right-handed. He has been an effective middle reliever for a variety of teams, and he has had an up-and-down career as a closer. He is known for his distinctive moustache. On September 16, 2007, Jones became the 21st member of the 300-save club, tying Bruce Sutter. His nickname, "Rollercoaster," given to him by Tigers Hall of Fame radio announcer Ernie Harwell, comes from his penchant for putting lots of runners on base with the game on the line yet still managing to get the save — an emotional "rollercoaster" for those watching the game.

Baseball career

Jones graduated from Osborne High School in Marietta, Georgia and attended Jacksonville State University. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the first round of 1989 MLB draft and made his major league debut during the 1993 season.

Initially used mainly as a setup man, Jones soon became a closer for the Astros. His best years came with the Detroit Tigers from 1997-2001, when he logged 142 saves. On September 27, 1999, Jones threw the last official pitch at Tiger Stadium, striking out Carlos Beltran as the Tigers defeated the Kansas City Royals 8-2.

While playing for the Colorado Rockies in April 2003, Jones made remarks criticized as anti-gay comments during a discussion of the play Take Me Out. Jones publicly apologized, but did not retract his comments.

Jones signed a one-year contract with the Florida Marlins during the 2004 offseason. After an injury to incumbent closer Guillermo Mota, Jones took on the role for the first time since being traded to the Minnesota Twins in 2001. He finished the 2005 season with a 2.10 ERA and 40 saves. On December 8, 2005, Jones signed a two-year contract to return to the Tigers. In 2006, he also participated in the inaugural World Baseball Classic.

Jones is a finesse pitcher and shows good durability. In every year since the strike-shortened 1994 season, he has pitched in at least 51 games. On May 21, 2006, he became the Detroit Tigers' all-time leader in saves, passing Mike Henneman.

Personal

Jones is a devout Christian, and is known for using Contemporary Christian music when entering from the bullpen. During the 2006 playoffs he entered to "Last One Standing" by MercyMe.

Jones has been a regular baseball columnist for the Birmingham News since the 1990s. Since 2002, he has been writing a weekly column, "The Closer," for The Sporting News 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 also appears every Tuesday on the nationally syndicated talk show "Rick and Bubba".

Jones currenly resides in Pell City with his family, where he owns a sports memorabilia store.

Awards and accomplishments

• All-Star (2000)
• AL Relief Man of the Year (2000)
• Led American League in saves (42, 2000)
• Along with Juan Rincón, led MLB with 11 relief wins (2004)
• Ranks 21st in all-time saves (300)
• Made first World Series appearance in second stint with Tigers (2006)
• Appeared on the cover of The Sporting News (March/April 2007)
• Live the Dream Award (2006)

References

• Todd Jones (baseball). (April 16, 2008). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 28, 2008.

External links

• Column at SportingNews.com