View source for Sad Sam Jones

{{Short description|American baseball player (1892–1966)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Sad Sam Jones
|image=Sad Sam Jones 1918.jpg
|position=[[Pitcher]]
|birth_date={{birth date|1892|7|26}}
|birth_place=[[Woodsfield, Ohio]], U.S.
|death_date={{Death date and age|1966|7|6|1892|7|26}}
|death_place=[[Barnesville, Ohio]], U.S.
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=June 13
|debutyear=1914
|debutteam=Cleveland Indians
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 28
|finalyear=1935
|finalteam=Chicago White Sox
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
|stat1value=229–217
|stat2label=[[Earned run average]]
|stat2value=3.84
|stat3label=[[Strikeout]]s
|stat3value=1,223
|teams=
* [[Cleveland Indians]] ({{mlby|1914}}–{{mlby|1915}})
* [[Boston Red Sox]] ({{mlby|1916}}–{{mlby|1921}})
* [[New York Yankees]] ({{mlby|1922}}–{{mlby|1926}})
* [[St. Louis Browns]] ({{mlby|1927}})
* [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] ({{mlby|1928}}–{{mlby|1931}})
* [[Chicago White Sox]] ({{mlby|1932}}–{{mlby|1935}})
|highlights=
* 2× [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1918}}, {{wsy|1923}})
* Pitched a [[no-hitter]] on September 4, 1923
}}
'''Samuel Pond''' "'''Sad Sam'''" '''Jones''' (July 26, 1892 – July 6, 1966) was an American professional [[baseball]] [[pitcher]] who played in [[Major League Baseball]] with the [[Cleveland Indians]], [[Boston Red Sox]], [[New York Yankees]], [[St. Louis Browns]], [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] and [[Chicago White Sox]] between 1914 and 1935. Jones batted and threw right-handed. His sharp breaking curveball also earned him the nickname "Horsewhips Sam".

==Career==
In a 22-year career, Jones compiled a 229–217 record with 1223 [[strikeout]]s and a 3.84 [[earned run average|ERA]] in 3,883 [[innings pitched]]. Jones signed his first professional contract in 1913, with the [[Zanesville Potters|Flood Sufferers]] in [[Zanesville, Ohio]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/stats/p-aa010a66|title=Sad Sam Jones Minor League Statistics|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref>  After brief stints with two other minor league teams, he made his major league debut with the Indians in 1914. Before the 1916 season, he was sent to Boston in the same trade that brought [[Tris Speaker]] to Cleveland.

In 1918, Jones joined the Red Sox starting rotation, ending with a 16–5 mark, a career-best 2.25 ERA, and a league-best .762 [[Baseball statistics|winning percentage]]. His most productive season came in 1921, when he posted career-highs in [[win (baseball statistics)|wins]] (23), strikeouts (98) and innings (298.2), and led the league in [[shutouts in baseball|shutout]]s (5). But his most remembered season may have been 1923 as the ace of the Yankees' staff; he posted a 21–8 record with a 3.63 ERA and led his team to their first [[World Series]] title. Jones also [[no-hitter|no-hit]] the [[Philadelphia Athletics]] 2-0 on September 4 at [[Shibe Park]], in a game in which he did not record a [[strikeout]] the entire game. Only two other pitchers ([[Earl Hamilton]] and [[Ken Holtzman]]) have thrown a no-hitter with no strikeouts. Jones was 2–1 against the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] in [[1923 World Series|that World Series]], and his crucial [[relief pitcher|relief]] work in the final game of the Series clinched the championship for the Yankees. Like most pitchers of his time, Jones relieved as well as started, and his eight [[save (baseball)|saves]] in 1922 led the league's [[relief pitcher]]s.

Jones lost a league-high 21 games in 1925. He pitched for the Browns a year later, and was waived to Washington in 1927. With the Senators, Jones regained his form, leading his team's staff with a 17–7 record. He enjoyed his last good season in 1930, ending with a 15–7 mark. After four years of service for the White Sox, Jones retired in 1935 as the oldest active player at the time (42). His 22 consecutive seasons pitching in one league is a major league record shared with [[Herb Pennock]], [[Early Wynn]], [[Red Ruffing]] and [[Steve Carlton]].

He was a better than average hitting pitcher in his career, compiling a .197 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] (245-for-1243) with 151 [[run (baseball)|runs]], 6 [[home runs]], 101 [[Run batted in|RBI]] and drawing 139 [[bases on balls]].

Sad Sam Jones died in [[Barnesville, Ohio]], at the age of 73.

==Nickname==
* "Bill McGeehan of the New York Herald-Tribune dubbed him Sad Sam because, to him, Jones looked downcast on the field. Jones told Lawrence Ritter that the reason he looked downcast was because, 'I would always wear my cap down real low over my eyes. And the sportswriters were more used to fellows like Waite Hoyt, who'd always wear their caps way up so they wouldn't miss any pretty girls'." – Ed Walton, at Baseball Library [https://web.archive.org/web/20040604015102/http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/J/Jones_Sad_Sam.stm]

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball}}
* [[List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual saves leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball no-hitters]]
* ''[[The Glory of Their Times]]'', 1966 book

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{baseballstats|br=j/jonessa01|retro=J/Pjones104}}
*{{find a Grave}}
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{{s-start}}
{{succession box | title=[[List of Major League Baseball no-hitters|No-hitter pitcher]] | before= [[Jesse Barnes]] | years= September 4, 1923 | after= [[Howard Ehmke]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{1918 Boston Red Sox}}
{{1923 New York Yankees}}
{{Boston Red Sox Opening Day starting pitchers}}
{{Chicago White Sox Opening Day starting pitchers}}
{{New York Yankees Opening Day starting pitchers}}
{{Minnesota Twins Opening Day starting pitchers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Sad Sam}}
[[Category:1892 births]]
[[Category:1966 deaths]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox players]]
[[Category:Chicago White Sox players]]
[[Category:Cleveland Indians players]]
[[Category:New York Yankees players]]
[[Category:St. Louis Browns players]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:Washington Senators (1901–1960) players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball right fielders]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers]]
[[Category:People from Woodsfield, Ohio]]
[[Category:Minor league baseball managers]]
[[Category:Zanesville Flood Sufferers players]]
[[Category:Cleveland Bearcats players]]
[[Category:Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in Canada]]
[[Category:People from Barnesville, Ohio]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Belmont County, Ohio]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in Nicaragua]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in Panama]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela]]
[[Category:Portsmouth Cobblers players]]