MLB: Top 20 closers in Major League Baseball history
Career Statistics:
- Games: 982
- Saves: 319
- Won-Loss Record: 58-63
- ERA: 3.97
- ERA+: 111
- FIP: 3.95
- WHIP: 1.413
- Innings: 1,072
- Strikeouts: 868
- Strikeout Percentage: 18.7%
- All-Star Appearances: 1
- World Series Championships: 0
- Awards: None
Todd Jones wasn’t flashy, and other than saves his career statistics probably won’t blow anyone away. But you don’t spend more than a decade closing ballgames in the big leagues if you can’t pitch.
Jones earned his first crack at the regular ninth inning job in Houston in 1995, which was his third year with the club. He saved a combined 32 games from 1995-96 for the Astros before being traded to Detroit in December 1996. Jones thrived with the Tigers and saved 142 games in Motown over the next five seasons, including an American League leading 42 in an All-Star season in 2000. He finished fifth in the Cy Young race that year.
After bouncing around seven different teams in five seasons, and saving just 18 games over that span, a 37-year-old Jones reclaimed the closer’s role as a member of the Florida Marlins in 2005. He saved 40 games for the Fish that season before returning to Detroit for a three-year stint to end his career. In his second go-round with the Tigers, Jones saved another 93 games.
Next: 19. Rick Aguilera