At the close of every regular season, I enjoy spending time reflecting on the team(s) I’ve invested throughout 162 games. I’m not a “woulda, shoulda, coulda” type guy, so that’s why all this over-coverage of the Red Sox collapse and preceding fallout, absolutely disgusts me. When the Tigers lost game 163 in ’09, I of course was disappointed, but I appreciated the fact that my team was in the hunt during every single inning of that season. You’d think, with their recent successes and all those years of enduring “The Curse”, Boston faithfulls wouldn’t allow a down to the wire, nail-biter of a season, to get their pretty panties in such a tangled and twisted bunch. But I guess Big Papi, Pedroia, and company owe these crybabies much, much, more… or so ESPN suggests. We’ll just have to wait and see if the exile of Francona appeases the wolves.
So with the Tigers executing down the stretch, providing “extra” baseball for their fans to ingest, I decided to revisit a recently forgotten Tiger “great”.
In eight season with Detroit, Jones blew just 33 saves.
No, that’s not sarcasm… During his first tour with the club (’97-’01), he was a shimmer amongst thin talent, on a staff consisting of no real bright spots. And although we would regularly be taken on one of his patented “roller coaster” rides, he’d somehow manage the save. But it was his second go-round in Detroit, that his presence was really felt. In ’06, he was the veteran closer of a very “green” bullpen. With Zumaya and Rodney setting him up, Jones finished 56 contests, saving 37 for the AL Champs. The following summer, he would reach the 300 save plateau (200 as a Tiger). Towards the tail end of what was a frustrating ’08 Tiger season, “The Roller Coaster” hung it up.
While sporting the Old English “D”, Jones would finish 401 games for the Tigers, converting almost 87% of his save opportunities . His 235 saves are currently tops in Detroit history.
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