1983 randy jones

prior to the 1983 season, free agent randy jones signed a contract with the pittsburgh pirates. here is his 1983 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

unfortunately for jones, the pirates released him at the end of spring training, and he never actually took the mound for the bucs in the big leagues. that means that jones' final career appearance came on september 7, 1982 against the pirates, and that his 1983 card is a 'final tribute'. jones' career was over, with exactly 100 wins, a cy young award, and a penchant for bbq.

voici à vous, 1983 randy jones!

1981 randy jones

randy jones was traded to the mets in december of 1980. here is his 1981 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

in the four years after winning 42 games for the pads over the 1975 and 1976 seasons, jones won only 35 games despite a cumulative era of 3.62, and the hapless padres sent him to the equally dismal mets. jones was 1-8 with a 4.85 era in the strike-shortened season, and only marginally better in 1982, when he went 7-10 with a 4.60 era for the metropolitans. he did manage a 4-hit shutout of the astros in may of 1982, striking out a season high 6 batters in the process.

voici à vous, 1981 randy jones!

1977 randy jones

randy jones was on top of the pitching world going into the 1977 season. he had started the 1976 all-star game for the national league, but o-pee-chee stripped his card of the all-star designation and moved his facsimilie autograph. here is his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

jones had put together back-to-back 20-win seasons for the pads in 1975 and 1976 after losing 22 games for them in 1974. he led the league with 40 starts and 25 complete games in 1976, and won the cy young award (after finishing 2nd in 1975) despite striking out just 93 batters. unreal. his start in the 1976 all-star game came on the heels of him having pitched the last inning of the 1975 midsummer classic, and he strung together 4 consecutive scoreless innings over those two outings, which were the only two all-star appearances of jones' career.

voici à vous, 1977 randy jones!