Tigers' Jeff Jones retires: Game has taken toll on me

Detroit Tigers pitching coach Jeff Jones said, after 38 years in baseball, he has decided it is time to retire.

"It's been a great run," Jones told the Free Press. "I'm thankful to the Ilitch family for the opportunity but I want to spend some more time with my family.

"The game has kind of taken its toll, physically, on me. I've been thinking about it a little bit during the season. After the season, just decided to go ahead and do it."

The Tigers will now begin a search for a new pitching coach.

Among those who may be considered are Tigers minor league roving pitching instructor A.J. Sager, bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer and former Tigers pitcher Doug Brocail, who has experience as a pitching coach with the Astros. Brocail was the pitching coach at Double-A Corpus Christi this past season.

Jones, 59, said he was thankful to current manager Brad Ausmus and former manager Jim Leyland for the opportunity to be on their staffs.

Ausmus said the rest of the Tigers' coaches have signed contracts to return next season. Jones’ decision was not a surprise.

“I guess it’s not a complete shock because he did talk about it after Al (Avila) announced that he was bringing me back,” Ausmus said. “We talked about it and he mentioned he had a discussion with his family and had some personal things that he wanted to tend to.”

Ausmus will now spend part of the off-season coming up with a list of possible replacements.

Jones was born in Detroit and attended St. Clair County Community College and Bowling Green. He was a 13th-round pick in by the Oakland A's in the 1977 amateur draft. He spent five seasons in the big leagues (1980-84), all the with A's, and finished 9-9 with a 3.95 ERA in 112 games.

"I've had my knees replaced, I've had a neck surgery where they replaced a couple discs and I've got some pending things I have to take care of," Jones said. "It takes its toll on you after a number of years."

Jones said he told Ausmus that he would take a little time to make a decision after the season.

"We talked last week, and he mentioned to me that he wanted me to stay," Jones said. "I gave it a lot of thought. Just came to the conclusion last Friday that I was going to retire. He wanted me stay. We talked about a lot of different things."

Jones said, since the season ended, he had gone back and forth on whether to retire.

"It's been very difficult, a very difficult decision," Jones said. "I haven't gotten a lot of sleep.

"My wife said, 'If you decide you want to go back, I'm 100% behind you. And if you decide you want to retire, I'm 100% behind you.' It was really my decision. I talked to a lot of people about it, friends and family, and that's what I came up with. It hasn't been easy, believe me. It's been a very difficult couple of weeks I've had since the season ended."

Jones has been the pitching coach since July 3, 2011. Justin Verlander (2011) and Max Scherzer (2013) won the American League Cy Young Award, and Anibal Sanchez won the AL ERA crown in 2013, under Jones' direction.

Although the Tigers had a lot of problems with their pitching last season, Jones said that didn't factor into the decision. The Tigers are seeking at least two starting pitchers and must upgrade the bullpen, but Jones said he thinks they will improve.

"I think the pitching is going to be in really good shape," Jones said. "Obviously, we need to pick up a couple guys. But I think (Daniel) Norris has a chance to be a top-flight guy. I think Matt Boyd has a chance to be a very, very good pitcher. I didn't get a chance to see (Michael) Fulmer, who we got in that trade, but I've heard nothing but good things about him."

Jones said he has ruled out getting a job elsewhere in baseball. He did say he might continue to help young pitchers in the area, as he has done in the past.

"I love working with kids," he said. "I love working with pitchers. We'll see what comes."

Contact George Sipple: gsipple@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgesipple.