Glenn
09-24-2008, 12:55 PM
It's definitely a "steak and a BJ" day.
Tigers pitcher Todd Jones retires
By JOHN LOWE • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • September 24, 2008
Tigers reliever Todd Jones is retiring effective the end of this season. He made the announcement in his column in Sporting News.
Jones, 40, hasn’t pitched since mid-August because of shoulder trouble.
Jones is the Tigers’ all-time saves leader with 235. The next closest man on the list is Mike Henneman, with 154.
Jones served two terms as the Tigers' closer, and his legacy in that role is threefold: He often made his saves exciting by allowing the other team to mount a threat; he seldom got in trouble with walks; and he usually got the save.
He also was as stand-up as a reliever could be, answering reporters’ questions after his bad games. After one rough outing, he stopped on his way out of the clubhouse to ask a reporter who hadn’t come by his locker, “Do you need to talk to me?”
Jones joined the Tigers in a trade with Houston before the 1997 season, and a few months into that season manager Buddy Bell made him the closer.
Jones stayed with the Tigers until July 2001, when he was traded to the Twins for left-handed starter Mark Redman.
After a subsequent odyssey with several teams, which included getting released by Tampa Bay, Jones returned to the Tigers as a free agent for the 2006 season.
He saved 37 games in the ’06 season, then four more in the postseason. He saved 38 last season. He had 18 saves this season. Jones pitched only once after allowing a game-losing homer to Chicago in late July -- his first loss in more than a year.
"So this is it,” Jones writes in Sporting News. “If you're a Tigers fan, I'll never stress you out again. If you're not a Tigers fan, you'll never have me as your ace in the hole, convinced I'll blow a lead against your team."
Tigers pitcher Todd Jones retires
By JOHN LOWE • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • September 24, 2008
Tigers reliever Todd Jones is retiring effective the end of this season. He made the announcement in his column in Sporting News.
Jones, 40, hasn’t pitched since mid-August because of shoulder trouble.
Jones is the Tigers’ all-time saves leader with 235. The next closest man on the list is Mike Henneman, with 154.
Jones served two terms as the Tigers' closer, and his legacy in that role is threefold: He often made his saves exciting by allowing the other team to mount a threat; he seldom got in trouble with walks; and he usually got the save.
He also was as stand-up as a reliever could be, answering reporters’ questions after his bad games. After one rough outing, he stopped on his way out of the clubhouse to ask a reporter who hadn’t come by his locker, “Do you need to talk to me?”
Jones joined the Tigers in a trade with Houston before the 1997 season, and a few months into that season manager Buddy Bell made him the closer.
Jones stayed with the Tigers until July 2001, when he was traded to the Twins for left-handed starter Mark Redman.
After a subsequent odyssey with several teams, which included getting released by Tampa Bay, Jones returned to the Tigers as a free agent for the 2006 season.
He saved 37 games in the ’06 season, then four more in the postseason. He saved 38 last season. He had 18 saves this season. Jones pitched only once after allowing a game-losing homer to Chicago in late July -- his first loss in more than a year.
"So this is it,” Jones writes in Sporting News. “If you're a Tigers fan, I'll never stress you out again. If you're not a Tigers fan, you'll never have me as your ace in the hole, convinced I'll blow a lead against your team."