Ask most Orioles fans about the one season that Doug Jones spent here as the team's closer, and they're likely to harp on one failure.
Jones expects as much.
The date was Aug. 1, 1995. The opponent was the Toronto Blue Jays. And the ninth inning was of such disastrous proportions that it's linked directly to the Orioles' free fall from pennant contention.
Jones was brought in with the Orioles leading 10-6, then proceeded to give up six runs, the last three on a homer by Domingo Cedeno. Then-manager Phil Regan was booed lustily by the Camden Yards crowd as he emerged from the dugout to get Jones, and the right-hander was given similar treatment while walking slowly from the mound. He only added to the furor by tipping his cap.
It was part of a bizarre year for Jones, who converted 22 of 25 save opportunities, yet widely was perceived as a bust. He was sandwiched between Orioles closers Lee Smith and Randy Myers, and his game of soft-toss never quite caught on here.
His ERA after that fateful night rose to 8.71 at Camden Yards, compared to 1.53 on the road. And most important, the Orioles fell six games behind the division-leading Boston Red Sox.
"I thought I had a pretty good year here," said Jones, who was 0-4 with a 5.01 ERA, "but I'm sure the fans would see it a little differently.
"I went back and looked at my season and I found six games that were just bad games. But all of those games were at home, so every time I came into a game, it was like, 'Why are you still alive?' That was probably the hardest part of playing here, not understanding why you struggle at home."
Jones, 40, returned to Camden Yards last night with the Milwaukee Brewers, his seventh team since 1982 (Milwaukee twice), and he wasn't struggling. Nothing even close to that, unless you consider 21 saves in 22 chances a problem. Or a 2.64 ERA, four walks and 49 strikeouts, two in a 1-2-3 ninth inning last night.
Expected to fill a setup role again this season, he became the closer when Mike Fetters pulled a hamstring during spring training. Fetters has returned, but he hasn't unseated Jones, who is ranked 10th among the all-time save leaders with 263.
"I'm sure they're going to see if I can hold up," he said. "I think at the end of the season, they'll re-evaluate that and I'll probably be released. They'll take all their options before they commit to me because I'm 40 and I only throw 80 miles-an-hour. That's always been a bone of contention."
It's easy to see why Jones is enjoying whatever time and success he has with the Brewers. He signed with the Chicago Cubs after leaving Baltimore and lasted only two months before being released with a 2-2 record, two saves and a 5.01 ERA. The end was in sight, but Jones refused to look.
"I wasn't ready to quit," he said. "It was frustrating because going into Chicago, I never quite got the message from them that, yes, you will be pitching all the time. It was just a 'we'll see' approach, and closing games just never happened because they didn't have games to close. And the few chances I got, you put pressure on yourself. We just had a bad team and it was tough for everybody."
He signed with Milwaukee and pitched in Triple-A before being called up July 29. He signed another minor-league contract in December and was invited to spring training. The rest is his good fortune.
"I'm going to go as long as I can be effective," said Jones, a five-time All-Star who saved 112 games with the Cleveland Indians between 1988-1990.
"I think I've got my own little formula that works, and I have no reason to change it," he said. "As long as I'm healthy, I shouldn't have to quit. But I have my family and the kids are getting bigger and they're going to need Dad at home. They're going through the teen-age years here in another year or two, and those are going to be more important than trying to keep playing. It'll just depend on circumstances from year to year."
Pub Date: 7/12/97
