Randy Jones never bothered to wait for a hitter to get settled in the box. His own outfielders even tried his patience on the rare occasions they had to track down a fly ball surrendered by the Padres’ sinker-baller.
“It used to irritate the hell out of me waiting for them to get back in position,” Jones said this week with a laugh. “Hurry up. Let’s go.”
Jones had an especially hellacious pace on this date — May 4 — in 1977.
He teamed with the Phillies’ Jim Kaat in the fastest game in Padres history, a 4-1 victory completed in one hour and 29 minutes in front of a crowd of 10,021 at San Diego Stadium.