Todd Jones (baseball player)
Todd Barton Givin Jones (born April 24, 1968 in Marietta, Georgia) is a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who plays with the Florida Marlins (since 2005). He bats and throws right handed.
Jones attended Jacksonville State University in Alabama. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the first round of 1989 MLB draft and made his major league debut in the 1993 season.
Jones is a power pitcher and shows good durability. Aside from the strike-shortened 1994 season, he has pitched in at least 51 games during a 12-year career.
Initially, Jones was used mainly as a setup man, later, as a closer. As of the start of the 2005 season, he has posted 186 career saves. His best years came with the Detroit Tigers from 1997–2001, when he logged 142 saves.
In 2002 Jones started writing a weekly column, "The Closer", for The Sporting News. The title is a better reflection of his time with Detroit than of his current status; he has not been a full-time closer since he was traded to the Minnesota Twins in 2001. In later seasons, he has been an effective middle reliever for a variety of teams.
Jones signed with the Marlins during the 2004 offseason.
Teams
- Houston Astros (1993–96)
- Detroit Tigers (1997–2001)
- Minnesota Twins (2001)
- Colorado Rockies (2002–03)
- Boston Red Sox (2003)
- Cincinnati Reds (2004)
- Philadelphia Phillies (2004)
- Florida Marlins (2005)
Awards and accomplishments
- All-Star (2000)
- AL Relief Man of the Year (2000)
- Led American League in saves (42, 2000)
- Along with Juan Rincón, led MLB with 11 relief wins (2004)