Pitcher, San Francisco Giants
Age: 33
1st season
with Giants
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’4” Weight: 192
Prior to 1959:
Born in
Stewartsville, Ohio, there was some dispute regarding the actual year of Jones’
birth, although 1925 is generally accepted, it is possible that he lowered his
age by a couple of years for reasons pertaining to his athletic career. He
lived with his single mother in her father’s home until the family moved to
Monongah, West Virginia at around age 11. In 1937 he received $50 and a new
bike for winning the state marble shooting championship during which he
displayed impressive determination and skill. When his mother married they
moved to Grant Town and Jones entered Dunbar High School in nearby Fairmont where
he played football and basketball. Upon entering the Army during World War II
in 1943 he first began to play baseball, appearing at first base and catcher and
only occasionally pitching. He also acquired the lasting habit of chewing
toothpicks, which led to his nickname of “Toothpick Sam”. A light-skinned
African-American with reddish hair (he was also called “Red” as a result), Jones
played for low-level Negro League teams while still in the Army. In 1947 he left
the military and signed with the Cleveland Buckeyes of the Negro American
League and being a poor hitter and lacking athletic grace, became a full-time
pitcher. His overall record was 4-2 that season, and 0-1 in official league
games. Returning to the Buckeyes in 1948, he had a 9-8 overall tally (1-2 in
official games) for the financially strapped club. Still very raw as a pitcher
who had gotten a late start, he was rejected by a scout for the Cleveland
Indians and joined a touring Negro League team before playing winter ball in
Panama where he got the opportunity to pitch in the 1949 Caribbean Series. In
1949 he joined the semipro Southern Minnesota League and performed very well,
although records are unreliable. Following a fall tryout with the Cleveland
Indians, Jones signed and, after another winter season in Panama he joined
Wilkes-Barre of the Class A Eastern League in 1951. He produced a 17-8 record
with a 2.71 ERA, 20 complete games, and 169 strikeouts over 219 innings. He
featured an impressive fastball and curve that he threw sidearm and overhand.
He also picked up another nickname of “Sad Sam” that was inspired by an earlier
major league pitcher also named Sam Jones due to his quiet nature and downcast
countenance. Beyond that he could be amiable and humorous and had a generous
disposition. Moving up to San Diego of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in
1951, Jones worked on not telegraphing his pitches and posted a 15-13 tally and
2.75 ERA with a league-leading 246 strikeouts over 267 innings. Called up to
Cleveland in September, he made two appearances and was 0 -1 with a 2.08 ERA.
Pitching winter ball in Puerto Rico with Santurce, he had a good season until
his heavy workload caused him to come up with a sore arm which also sidelined
him for a time in the spring with the Indians. He made only 14 appearances for
Cleveland in 1952 and was 2-3 with a disappointing 7.25 ERA. Sent back to AAA
at one point with Indianapolis of the American Association, he was 4-0 with a
3.09 ERA. Still hindered by arm soreness in 1953, Jones spent the season with Indianapolis
and produced a 10-12 record and 3.32 ERA with 10 complete games and 118
strikeouts over 187 innings. Following a disappointing winter campaign in
Venezuela, Jones, who remained blocked from Cleveland due to the club’s strong
pitching rotation, was back with Indianapolis again in 1954 where he performed
better with a 15-8 tally, 3.75 ERA, 12 complete games, and 178 strikeouts over
199 innings. Frustrated with the Indians organization, he threatened to quit
and was traded to the Chicago Cubs. In 1955 with a sixth-place club, “Toothpick
Sam” finally got the chance to be a starting major league pitcher over the
course of a full season and had a 14-20 record that included a no-hitter against
the Pittsburgh Pirates in which he walked three batters to load the bases in
the ninth inning and was nearly pulled by manager Stan Hack, only to strike out
the next three batters on 11 pitches to finish the hitless performance, the
first ever by an African-American in the NL or AL. He also led the NL in
strikeouts (198), and prone to wildness, also led in walks (185) and hit
batters (14) which also exemplified his tendency to throw inside to batters who
crowded the plate. His ERA was 4.10 but he was an All-Star selection. Jones
again led the NL in strikeouts in 1956 (176) and walks (115) in what was
overall a disappointing season in which his record was 9-14 with a 3.91 ERA. In
the offseason he was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals as part of a nine-player
trade. In 1957 he went through a hot stretch in June and July but encountered a
sore elbow and finished at 12-9 with a 3.60 ERA, 10 complete games, 2 shutouts,
and 154 strikeouts with 71 walks over 182.2 innings. In 1958 “Toothpick Sam”
returned to his routine of leading the league in both strikeouts (225) and
walks (107) while compiling a 14-13 tally with a 2.88 ERA, 14 complete games, 2
shutouts, and 250 innings pitched. Jones was traded once again during spring
training in 1959, as part of a deal with the Giants that brought promising
first baseman Bill White to St. Louis. Appreciated for his obvious pitching
talent, “Toothpick Sam” was considered to be a hard luck pitcher, although he
had improved his delivery and mechanics.
1959 Season Summary
Appeared in 50
games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 50 [8]
Games Started –
35 [7, tied with Bob Friend & Robin Roberts]
Complete Games
– 16 [7]
Wins – 21 [1,
tied with Warren Spahn & Lew Burdette]
Losses – 15 [5,
tied with Warren Spahn & Lew Burdette
PCT - .583 [10,
tied with Warren Spahn & Lew Burdette]
Saves – 5 [10,
tied with Orlando Pena]
Shutouts – 4
[1, tied with six others]
Innings Pitched
– 270.2 [4, tied with Don Drysdale]
Hits – 232 [11]
Runs – 99 [14]
Earned Runs – 85
[17]
Home Runs – 18
Bases on Balls
– 109 [1]
Strikeouts – 209
[2]
ERA – 2.83 [1]
Hit Batters – 8
[4, tied with Wilmer Mizell & Juan Pizarro]
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 5
[14, tied with five others]
League-leading
bases on balls surrendered were +3 ahead of runner-up Glen Hobbie
League-leading
ERA was -0.01 lower than runner-up Stu Miller
Midseason
Snapshot: 10-8, ERA - 3.35, SO – 114 in 139.2 IP
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Most
strikeouts, game – 12 (in 9 IP) vs. Philadelphia 5/13
10+ strikeout
games – 3
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 0 (in 7 IP) at St. Louis 9/26 (Rain-shortened
no-hitter with 2 BB & 5 strikeouts. Giants won 4-0)
Batting
PA – 100, AB – 85,
R – 3, H – 11, 2B – 1, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 8, BB – 3, SO – 30, SB – 0, CS –
0, AVG - .129, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 11, SF – 1
Fielding
Chances – 47
Put Outs – 10
Assists – 34
Errors – 3
DP – 2
Pct. - .936
Awards & Honors:
NL Pitcher of
the Year: Sporting News
All-Star
5th
in NL MVP voting (130 points – 39% share)
2nd
in MLB Cy Young voting (2 votes – 13% share)
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The Giants went 83-71 to finish third in the NL, 4 games behind the pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers. The pitching staff led the league in ERA (3.47), fewest hits allowed (1279), and fewest runs allowed (613). Embroiled in a hot three-team pennant race with the Dodgers and Milwaukee Braves, the Giants moved into first on July 4. Aided by rookie first baseman Willie McCovey’s arrival at the end of the month, they cruised into September but, losing seven of their last eight games, dropped into third at the end. Jones was the club’s ironman pitcher, relieving in 15 games between starts until tiring in the final week. In addition to his rain-shortened no-hitter at St. Louis, he missed out on a full-length no-hitter against the Dodgers on a controversial scorer’s ruling of a base hit on a ball misplayed by shortstop Andre Rodgers thus reinforcing Jones’ hard luck label.
Aftermath of 1959:
Jones received a pay raise to $35,000 in 1960 and while the Giants dipped in the standings, “Toothpick Sam” was still effective in posting an 18-14 record and 3.19 ERA with 13 complete games, 3 shutouts, and 190 strikeouts over 234 innings. His performance dropped off in 1961 to 8-8 in 37 appearances (17 of them starts) with a 4.49 ERA and 105 strikeouts over 128.1 innings. Left exposed in the NL expansion draft in the offseason, he was chosen by the new Houston franchise, who in turn dealt him to the Detroit Tigers. During 1962 spring training Jones was diagnosed with cancer, and following surgery and treatment, it went into remission. He was still able to pitch for the Tigers, typically out of the bullpen and in 30 appearances (6 of them starts) he went 2-4 with a 3.65 ERA and 73 strikeouts over 81.1 innings. Along the way he even added a new pitch, a slider, to his repertoire. Injuries suffered in a September car accident further curtailed his season and he was released by the Tigers. Failing to catch on with the Los Angeles Angels during 1963 spring training, he instead signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Class AAA International League where he stayed until the Cardinals re-obtained him in June and assigned him to the Atlanta Crackers, also of the International League. Having compiled a combined minor league record of 9-4 he was promoted to the Cardinals in August. He appeared in 11 games in his return to the Cardinals, all in relief, and despite a 2-0 tally, his ERA was 9.00 and he was released at season’s end. After playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic, where he performed well, Jones signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1964 and was assigned to their AAA International League team, the Columbus Jets where he was 7-6 with a 1.76 ERA while used exclusively out of the bullpen, with 89 strikeouts over 83 innings. Obtained by the Baltimore Orioles, who were seeking a veteran reliever for the September stretch run as they contended for the American League pennant, “Toothpick Sam” made seven appearances without a decision and had a 2.61 ERA and 6 strikeouts over 10.1 innings. Returned to the Pittsburgh organization during the offseason, he spent three more seasons with Columbus, with his best record being 12-4 in 1965. Apparently due to concerns about his age (he was 41 when he reached the end of the line), he never again appeared in the major leagues. For his major league career, Jones produced a 103-104 record while pitching in 327 games (225 of them starts), with a 3.63 ERA, 77 complete games, 17 shutouts, and 1393 strikeouts with 840 walks over 1669.1 innings. With the Giants his record was 47-37 in 126 pitching appearances (87 of them starts) with a 3.30 ERA, 31 complete games, 7 shutouts, and 504 strikeouts with 257 walks over 633 innings. He led the NL in strikeouts three times and in walks four times. He was a two-time All-Star. Following his playing career, a second bout with cancer led to his death in 1971 at age 45. The tenacity and determination he displayed as a youth when winning the West Virginia marble shooting championship served him well as an adult, and despite bad luck and control issues suffered during his pitching career, he was often impressive.
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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum
of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who
led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a
minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between
the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc.
players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the
postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.