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<\/a><\/p>\nTwo big things happened for me in 1995\u2013 I moved to Lexington Ky. and Chipper Jones became the everyday All Star third baseman for the Braves. I have watched his whole career, and there is a reason he\u2019s a first ballot Hall of Famer. In an age of juiced players, Chipper always did it the right way, the hard way. <\/p>\n
The following is Jayson Stark\u2019s wonderful summary of what Chipper has achieved as an offensive star. Hardly anyone has been more clutch than him in the last 18 years. It\u2019s been a blessing to watch him these years, and he will be missed especially by a Braves fan like me. <\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
Feat No. 1 \u2014 .300 from both sides of the plate<\/p>\n
The numbers: Jones hitting left-handed: .304\/.405\/.542. Hitting right-handed: .305\/.391\/.499.<\/p>\n
What it means: There have been 106 switch-hitters in history who came to the plate at least 5,000 times. Only two of them hit .300 or better from both sides. One was Frankie Frisch, whose career ended 75 years ago. The other: Chipper Jones.<\/p>\n
Chipper\u2019s take: Oh sure, it sounds impressive, Jones admits. \u201cBut not a lot of switch-hitters have been doing it since they were 7,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s 33 years. So if I don\u2019t have it somewhat down by now, something\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughs softly at his own quip. But he knows, he says, he couldn\u2019t have hung out with Frankie Frisch without the brilliant hitting coaches he had through the years \u2014 without Willie Stargell and Frank Howard to pass along their wisdom when he was young, without Don Baylor to prod him to reach that next level from the right side in 1999, and, especially, without a man named Larry Wayne Jones Sr., the father whose inspired idea this whole switch-hitting thing was in the first place.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, it takes a lot of work,\u201d Jones said. \u201cIt takes twice as much work to be a switch-hitter as it does to be one-sided. But it certainly paid off. I can\u2019t imagine walking up to the plate and facing a Kevin Brown or a Pedro Martinez righty-on-righty, or a Randy Johnson or Cliff Lee lefty-on-lefty. I thank God every day my dad made me turn around in the back yard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used to watch the Saturday game of the week on TV, with Joe Garagiola and Tony Kubek. And after the game was over, we\u2019d go out in the back yard and imitate the lineup. Whenever a left-handed hitter came up in my lineup, I had to hit left-handed. My dad\u2019s standing 40 feet away from me with a tennis ball. And I\u2019ve got a 32-inch piece of PVC pipe in my hand. And he\u2019s raring back and chucking it as hard as he can. That\u2019s how you learn to hit the fastball right there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Feat No. 2 \u2014 Walking with the Mick<\/p>\n
The numbers: Jones\u2019 career on-base percentage: .401. His career slugging percentage: .530. His career homers: 468. All as a switch-hitter, of course.<\/p>\n
What it means: The list of greatest switch-hitters in history obviously includes men like Frisch, Pete Rose, Eddie Murray and even Lance Berkman. But only two switch-hitters are in that .400-.500-400 Club. One is Mickey Mantle. The other: Chipper Jones.<\/p>\n
Chipper\u2019s take: \u201cI think, coming up, I knew what the standard was,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI knew that Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray were the two best switch-hitters of all time. While I never expected to hit 300 to 400 home runs in my career, the goal was still the same. I wanted to be mentioned, when I was done playing, if not with those two guys, then right behind them. And as I\u2019ve gotten bigger and stronger and more mature mentally in my game, the numbers just kind of piled up. I\u2019ve been able to play a long time. And now I\u2019m to the point where every homer, every RBI, passes a Hall of Famer. It\u2019s been a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
The manager\u2019s take: One of the problems with our modern-day reverence of on-base percentage, slugging and OPS is that they\u2019re awesome metrics \u2014 but lousy measuring sticks. So as men like Chipper play into their twilight, it\u2019s the \u201ccounting numbers\u201d that become their most magical, and memorable, mileposts. And why not?<\/p>\n
When Jones passed Lou Gehrig on the all-time hits list last weekend, for instance, it carried no powerful historic significance. But for his manager, Fredi Gonzalez, it was still a \u201cgoose bumps\u201d moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomebody said, \u2018Hey when he gets his next hit, make sure to get the ball, because he\u2019s going to pass Lou Gehrig,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cAnd I said, \u2018Whoah. Lou Gehrig?\u2019 You know, all season, every time he passed a guy, another name, you\u2019d be like, \u2018Holy crap.\u2019 They\u2019re all guys you never saw play. But you see them in the history books.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chipper\u2019s take: For Chipper, it wasn\u2019t passing Gehrig on the hits list that rattled his personal Richter scale. It was passing his all-time all-time icon, Mantle, on the career RBI list last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you start passing some of the great Yankees of all time, you really start to sit back and say, \u2018Wow,'\u201d he said. \u201cBut the big one for me was passing Mickey in RBIs. For me, Mickey was put on such a high pedestal when I was a kid, from my dad, it\u2019s just hard for me to believe that I could pass him in anything, much less something as important as a run-production stat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Feat No. 3 \u2014 Topping Schmidt and Brett<\/p>\n
The numbers: 1,622 RBIs for Chipper \u2014 and still counting.<\/p>\n
What it means: In the history of baseball, only three players ever drove in more than 1,500 runs while spending most of their careers playing third base. Two were George Brett (1,596) and Mike Schmidt (1,595). You can learn all about them in Cooperstown, N.Y. But who\u2019s the all-time leader in RBIs by a guy who mostly played third base? Chipper Jones. That\u2019s who.<\/p>\n
Chipper\u2019s take: When Jones is hanging plaques in his own little third-base pantheon, he makes a point to pay homage to Eddie Mathews, \u201cthe model by which every Atlanta third baseman is going to be measured.\u201d But with all due respect to Brooks Robinson, Wade Boggs, Ron Santo, Pie Traynor and the other great third basemen in history, Chipper\u2019s personal Hot Corner Hall of Fame begins with two men: Brett and Schmidt, the dynamic duo that comprises his definition of \u201cthe gold standard.\u201d<\/p>\n
The three of them rank 1-2-3 in some order in a bunch of significant third-base categories. But when Jones found himself zooming past Schmidt and Brett in RBIs in the same week this July, it was one of the most overwhelming experiences of his overwhelming year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you talk about passing those guys in career RBIs in my final season, for guys whose primary position was third base, it was just one of those moments where you\u2019re like, \u2018Wow.\u2019 You can\u2019t really believe it,\u201d he said. \u201cI grew up watching these guys. Never in a million years did I think I\u2019d be mentioned in the same breath with them one day. \u2026 It\u2019s really crazy. Whenever you do that, you just go home at night and sit in a chair in front of the TV and just say, \u2018Wow.\u2019 Never in my wildest dreams, when I was in my back yard in Pierson, Fla., did I ever think I would be in such elite company.\u201d<\/p>\n
Feat No. 4 \u2014 More walks than whiffs<\/p>\n
The numbers: Here Jones is, after more than 10,000 trips to the plate, still able to say he has piled up more career walks (1,505) than strikeouts (1,409). Hard to do.<\/p>\n
What it means: More than 130 active players have hit at least 100 homers in their careers \u2014 but only three of them have walked more than they\u2019ve punched out. Albert Pujols and Todd Helton are two of them. The other: Chipper Jones.<\/p>\n
Teammate\u2019s take: \u201cA lot of switch-hitters, their swings are different from both sides, but not him,\u201d said Jones\u2019 clubhouse neighbor, Eric Hinske. \u201cHe\u2019s just so consistent. The number that sticks out to me is that he\u2019s got more walks than strikeouts in his career. To me, that\u2019s not even comprehendible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chipper\u2019s take: \u201cA lot of guys say that\u2019s probably the most impressive stat,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI\u2019ve heard a lot of guys saying they can\u2019t even wrap their heads around that. But you know, to be honest, I think if I have one regret in the course of my career, it\u2019s that I didn\u2019t swing the bat more when I was younger. Or else I\u2019d be a heck of a lot closer to the 3,000 [hit] mark. But there\u2019s a reason I didn\u2019t: Because it goes against everything I believe in as an offensive player.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you walk to the plate, you need to go up there and be the toughest out possible. And in order to do that, you have to draw walks. You have to yield to the guy behind you in the lineup from time to time. The fact of the matter is, there are certain points during the season, during a game, that teams aren\u2019t going to let you beat them. And if you\u2019re smart enough to realize when those situations are, you\u2019re going to draw a bunch of walks. I\u2019ve always thought that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Feat No. 5 \u2014 The greatest No. 1 overall pick ever<\/p>\n
The numbers: 2,724 hits and 468 homers \u2014 every one of them for the team that drafted him with the very first pick in 1990, the Atlanta Braves.<\/p>\n
What it means: Only one other No. 1 overall pick ever hit 400 homers for the team that drafted him: Ken Griffey Jr., who hit 417 for the Mariners. But here\u2019s what separates Chipper from Griffey and every other No. 1 in history: This guy did everything for the team that picked him. If you don\u2019t count active players, you know what the next most hits and home runs is by a No. 1 overall pick who played his entire big league career with the team that drafted him? Ummmmm \u2026 would you believe 25 hits and two homers, by former Mariners great Al Chambers? You can look it up.<\/p>\n
The GM\u2019s take: Maybe Griffey and Alex Rodriguez can stake their claims to the title of Greatest No. 1 Pick Ever. But at the very least, says Braves GM Frank Wren, Chipper is the guy who\u2019s had \u201cthe greatest value to the organization that picked him. How about that? I think you could make that case, from a standpoint of, he\u2019s spent his whole career with one organization, and had a Hall of Fame career, whereas other guys haven\u2019t necessarily done that.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that only happened, Wren says, because Jones \u201cwas always wanting to get something done so he\u2019d stay here forever. \u2026 And that\u2019s allowed him to have a special end to a career that wouldn\u2019t have existed if he\u2019d chased the last dollar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chipper\u2019s take: \u201cI want to be identified with one team,\u201d Jones said, emphatically. \u201cI don\u2019t want to spend the last two or three years in my career floating around the league, trying to attain a number. I\u2019ve never wanted to play anywhere else. Atlanta fits my style and my speed. I\u2019ve gotten a chance to play for Bobby [Cox], who I think is the greatest manager of all time, for 17 of the 19 years. I\u2019m a Southern kid. I was born and bred in the Braves organization. And I want to stay here.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe marriage between the Braves and myself has been a good one. It\u2019s been one with give and take on both sides. So I\u2019ve never wanted to wear another uniform. And they\u2019ve shown me throughout the years, by never even letting me get remotely close to free agency, that they want me here. And that means a lot to me. I wouldn\u2019t feel right going to the American League and DH-ing, just to get 3,000 hits or 500 homers. \u2026 Do I think I could stick around for another two or three years and get 3,000 hits or 500 homers if I really wanted it? Yeah. No doubt. Because I still have the ability to be productive. But that would mean me probably having to go somewhere else. And it means more to me to spend 19 years in one organization, in one uniform, and nobody else seeing me in a different \u2018uni.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019d just be too weird,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019d be weird for me. It would be weird for everybody who came out to watch. And heck, if I played for another team, I\u2019d be running back and forth to the clubhouse checking how the Braves were doing. And I certainly could never see myself playing against an Atlanta team. That would just be way too difficult. \u2026 I saw guys like [Tom] Glavine and Smoltzy [John Smoltz] do it, and I know it was hard for them. I know how difficult it was for them to play in our venue and play against us, to try and beat us. It\u2019s just something I wouldn\u2019t want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Feat No. 6 \u2014 427 games over .500<\/p>\n
The numbers: Since the day Chipper Jones moved into the Braves\u2019 lineup to stay, on Opening Day 1995, they\u2019ve won 427 more games (1,658) than they\u2019ve lost (1,231). That would not be a coincidence, ladies and gentlemen.<\/p>\n
What it means: We\u2019ve done the math. There are only two active position players who can say their teams are at least 400 games over .500 in their time as regular players. One is (shocker) Derek Jeter (551 over). The other: Chipper Jones.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been so many cool things that have happened to me this year. The fans\u2019 appreciation and [opposing] teams\u2019 appreciation, that\u2019s been unbelievable in and of itself.
\n \u201d \u2014 Chipper Jones <\/p>\n
Chipper\u2019s take: He knows this is a feat he didn\u2019t achieve alone. He knows he was just \u201cone-ninth of the equation\u201d every day he took the field. He knows the Braves \u201csurrounded me with a ton of good players along the way.\u201d He gladly names many of their names. But that doesn\u2019t mean he wasn\u2019t part \u2014 maybe even the most important part \u2014 of a special team, at a special time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m proud that I\u2019m the last guy standing from the old regime, that I\u2019m still here and we\u2019re still competitive,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWe\u2019re still winning games. And I\u2019m contributing to that. I think that when people talk about you, you want to be talked about as what? A winner. Ultimately, that\u2019s what it comes down to. People want to be known as a winner \u2014 and as a \u2018ballplayer,\u2019 because the people inside the game know what the term \u2018ballplayer\u2019 means. You can\u2019t argue with the success that we\u2019ve had here during my tenure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yeah, he\u2019s heard all the garbage about how those 14 division titles the Braves won were tarnished by the fact they won \u201conly\u201d one World Series. But even as he gazes back on those years in the rearview mirror, he sees nothing he feels he ought to apologize for.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, \u201996 is the only one I look back on and have any regrets,\u201d Jones said. \u201cThat\u2019s the one I think we had the best team. I think we showed it the first two games [of that World Series] and then didn\u2019t show it from then on out. Every other year, I think that we got beaten by a better team at that particular time in the season. So yeah, it\u2019s \u2018only\u2019 one. But man, the body of work over that 14-year span, I don\u2019t think it\u2019ll ever be duplicated. I really don\u2019t.\u201d
\nFeat No. 7 \u2014 The best farewell season ever<\/p>\n
The numbers: In the final season of his career, at age 40, here\u2019s the stat line of the great Chipper Jones: 106 games, 427 plate appearances, .295\/.382\/.470. Oh, and there\u2019s also this: He leads his team \u2014 a team headed for the postseason, by the way \u2014 in OPS (.852). Amazing.<\/p>\n
What it means: There have been many, many great players who played into their late 30s and early 40s. Pretty much none of them had a final season to rival this one. With the help of the Elias Sports Bureau, we looked at all Hall of Fame position players since 1900 who finished their careers at age 37 or older. Exactly one of them had a say-goodnight season that resembled Chipper\u2019s grand finale. That would be a fellow named Ted Williams, who hit .316\/.451\/.645 in 1960, at age 41 \u2014 but in only 390 plate appearances. So it\u2019s Ted \u2026 and Chipper. Two guys who didn\u2019t just know when to turn out the lights. They also knew how. Did they ever.<\/p>\n
Teammate\u2019s take: He\u2019s been an MVP, an eight-time All-Star, a consistent run-production machine and a man who hit third or fourth in every one of the 92 postseason games he played in. But there has been something especially magical about Chipper Jones\u2019 final season. And everyone around him is savoring the magic act.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, the way he\u2019s playing, it\u2019s the best I\u2019ve seen him play since I\u2019ve been here \u2014 and he\u2019s won a batting title since I\u2019ve been here,\u201d said Jones\u2019 friend and prot\u00e9g\u00e9, Brian McCann. \u201cBut for some reason, this year it seems like he\u2019s come up with more big hits than ever. He\u2019s been in the middle of everything. \u2026 It\u2019s like he can see the finish line, and he\u2019s giving it all he\u2019s got, and it\u2019s great to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
The manager\u2019s take: It hasn\u2019t merely been the numbers that have made this year so cinematic, though. \u201cHe\u2019s just got a way of rising to those moments,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cThere have been so many of them. Like he missed the first six or seven days of the season because of his knee [surgery]. When he was ready to come back, I was begging him to go down [on a rehab option] to get some at-bats. He said, \u2018Just give me some BP. I\u2019ll be fine.\u2019 I said, \u2018You sure?\u2019 He looks at me and says, \u2018I\u2019m sure.\u2019 Then he goes out there, his parents are in the stands, and he doubles first at-bat, hits a home run next at-bat. And as he\u2019s going around the bases, Hinske is yelling at him, \u2018It can\u2019t be that easy.'\u201d<\/p>\n
Chipper\u2019s take: The star of this show listens as we recite these numbers and pass along how his teammates describe him. What all this tells him, Jones says finally, is that \u201cI\u2019ve been productive when I\u2019ve been in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the \u2018when I\u2019m in there\u2019 is the catch phrase,\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cI can\u2019t go to bed at night anymore and say for sure whether I\u2019m going to play the next day. And that\u2019s not fair to Fredi. It\u2019s not fair to the guys on the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
That, however, just explains why he\u2019s retiring. It doesn\u2019t explain why he has still been the best player on his team \u2014 even as he\u2019s cruising toward the exit ramp.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just extremely gratifying to have not heard throughout the course of this year that \u2018you should have retired two or three years ago,'\u201d Chipper Jones said. \u201cAnd anything less than going out and hitting around .300 and doing some of the things that I\u2019ve done this year, I probably would have heard that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Without the year he\u2019s had, \u201cwe\u2019d probably be back in the pack, fighting with the Dodgers and the Brewers and those other teams just to get in [the playoffs],\u201d Jones\u2019 manager says. And no one on his team would argue.<\/p>\n
In fact, best we can tell, only the computer programmers would. According to baseball-reference.com, Jones has been worth just 2.7 wins above replacement, making him merely the fourth-most valuable player on his own team. But there are certain things, in life and in baseball, that you can\u2019t measure with decimal points. And Chipper Jones\u2019 grand-finale magic act is one of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been so many cool things that have happened to me this year,\u201d he says. \u201cThe fans\u2019 appreciation and [opposing] teams\u2019 appreciation, that\u2019s been unbelievable in and of itself. And there have just been so many cool things that have happened on the field:<\/p>\n
\u201cMy first five-hit game at home [July 3, against the Cubs]. I\u2019ve never done that before. \u2026 A couple of walk-offs [two homers that won games the Braves once trailed by six runs] at home. Man, that\u2019s the apex. \u2026 Home run on my [40th] birthday. \u2026 Home run in my first start of the season, with my parents in the stands. \u2026 Two homers on my bobblehead day. \u2026 Just some really, really cool moments where, as the balls are flying out of the park, I\u2019m running down to first, saying, \u2018You have got to be kidding me. Did that just happen?'\u201d<\/p>\n
Seriously. Even in Hollywood, it would be hard to make up a story this good. Wouldn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n
The No. 1 pick who batted third in the lineup in his very first start in the big leagues, spent the next 18 seasons chiseling his Hall of Fame plaque, and now will call it a wrap by batting cleanup in one last epic postseason baseball game \u2014 for the team that drafted him? You have got to be kidding. Did that just happen? In real life?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s movie-worthy,\u201d says Chipper Jones, at his Spielbergian finest. \u201cMovie-worthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he\u2019s not kidding. But don\u2019t start casting \u201cThe Pride of Atlanta\u201d quite yet, friends. Don\u2019t forget, this man and his team aren\u2019t done. So who knows what sort of astonishing October magic trick the big cinematographer in the sky has in store for him?<\/p>\n
There are no guarantees, of course. And no one knows that better than him. But how come we just have a sneaky feeling that we haven\u2019t seen the last You Have Got To Be Kidding Me Moment before the great Chipper Jones can finally let out that giant sigh of relief and say, \u201cThat\u2019s a wrap.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two big things happened for me in 1995\u2013 I moved to Lexington Ky. and Chipper Jones became the everyday All Star third baseman for the Braves. I have watched his whole career, and there is a reason he\u2019s a first ballot Hall of Famer. In an age of juiced players, Chipper always did it the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n