Mr Jones and Me: An Interview with Randy Jones

For us San Diegans, there are few memories we recall with greater fondness than those warm summer nights spent with my our families watching the Padres take the field— some of us are even lucky enough to remember those early golden years. There were many fan favorites in those early days, like Ollie Brown and Dave Winfield. There was mighty Nate Colbert playing at first base and smashing balls all over the field (he still leads the Padres with career home runs). There was also a young pitcher named Randy "Junkyard" Jones, who first appeared in in a Padres uniform in June of ’73. When he was on the mound, the fans filled the stands. In 1975, Jones won 20 games, and in 1976 he went 22–14 while winning the Cy Young Award. In fact, Jones had a 16–3 record leading into the all–star break, a record that stands to this day.

Who were your influences as a child and your baseball idols?

Growing up in Southern California, my boyhood idol was Sandy Koufax. I used to watch him pitch in the ‘60s and dream about being on the mound myself.

When did you know professional baseball would be your career path?

I remember pitching my first game when I was 7 years old. I realized right after that game I wanted to play baseball the rest of my life. I chased that dream all the way through high school and college until I finally arrived in a San Diego Padre Uniform in 1973. In 1975, I had the honor of being the first Padre pitcher to pitch in an All–Star game. I pitched the final inning and got the save. In 1976, 40 years ago, I started and won the All–Star Game. That same year I was honored with the National League Cy Young Award.

Today your sport of choice seems to be golf. How long have you been playing?

I’ve always enjoyed playing golf since I was a kid. I never took my game too seriously, but carried a five handicap for many years. Unfortunately, due to the years, that handicap has doubled, but I still love the game. I’ve always said, I play golf only to remind myself how easy baseball is to play. Golf is a very humbling game.

Tell us about the Randy Jones Invitational Tournament you recently launched.

In the past 40 years, I’ve played in hundreds and hundreds of charity golf tournaments and put my name on too many of them to count. I enjoy giving back to the charities and communities where I live. That has led me to starting the Randy Jones Invitational. Instead of helping one charity, we combine to help over 250 charity golf tournaments by inviting the winners to play in our championship format tournament for free.

I’m one of the many San Diegans that miss your Randy Jones All American Sports Grill that used to be in Hazard Center. Are there plans to re–open a new one?

I’ve truly enjoyed being in the BBQ restaurant business in the past. The last venture, the Randy Jones Sports Grill, was very rewarding, but when you combine this with BBQ Stands at Padre games the last 25 years, it was a bit too much of a workload.

You are on the air on both radio and television, toss in the golf tournaments, there is also the Randy Jones Foundation that is very active in the communities it serves—where do you find the time to juggle it all?

I love to stay active in the community and will continue to do so. The Randy Jones Foundation has been established with a mission to make a difference in the lives of military kids whose parents are deployed overseas, by involving them in all kinds of outdoor activities, like going to Padre games, taking them fishing or giving them golf lessons.

Very few of us get to live out our childhood dreams; Jones is one of those fortunate few who have done so. He was even the first Padre Player to have his number (35) retired. With the 2016 MLB All–Star being played this year in San Diego at Petco Park, it will also mark the 40th anniversary of Jones’s All–Star win. To see how you can get involved with Jones’ charity, please visit Randy Jones Foundation.