Jared Jones earns end-of-season social media award that Pirates fans will love

Move over, Paul Skenes; there's another Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher taking home some hardware during awards season this year.

Pitching analyst Rob Friedman has named Pirates right-hander Jared Jones as the 2024 PitchingNinja "Sword of the Year" award winner for the awkward swing and miss he generated on a slider to Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang during an April 22 game at PNC Park.

"Sword," in this context, is a term popularized by Friedman referring to what transpires “when a pitcher fools a hitter so badly that he forces a non-competitive swing, one where a batter either regrets his choice or can’t stop himself from taking a hack that looks so ugly it ends up going viral on social media."

Suffice it to say, this pitch from Jones fit the bill.

Friedman doles out his tongue-in-cheek awards annually on social media, including categories such as "Friendliest Mound Charge," "Mind-Bending Pitch" and "Worst Broadcast Jinx." Jones earned his accolade with a pitch that quite literally knocked Turang on his behind.

"I never made someone fall but it was pretty cool to see," Jones said following the Pirates' 4-2 win over their National League Central Division rivals. "Pretty good pitch."

While he may have played it cool at the time when he picked up the strikeout, Jones later admitted he "was laughing on the inside." 

Pirates' Jared Jones will look to build on strong rookie season in 2025

Jones showed during his debut season that his pitching ability can play at the highest level. Despite a right lat strain that landed him on the injured list in early July, he finished the 2024 campaign with a 6-8 record, a 4.14 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP in 22 MLB starts for the Pirates.

The 22-year-old righty relied primarily on his fastball and the aforementioned slider last season, which he himself acknowledged made him rather predictable by the end of the year. While it's likely that Jones will continue to rely on the fastball-slider combo in 2025, locking in a third pitch could go a long way toward ensuring more consistent results throughout the season.

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