Chipper Jones

It looks as though Chipper Jones has ended his baseball career. He's torn his ACL and is out for the season. Two months ago he was unsure if this would be his last season or not, so with this news things don't look good for him ever coming back. If this is it, that is too bad because he's been the heart and soul of the Braves for 16 seasons.

Chipper Jones was selected as the #1 overall draft pick in the 1990 draft. Bobby Cox was responsible for drafting him, as he was the general manager of the Braves in 1990. He spent the next few years in the minor leagues and was scheduled for his rookie year to be in 1994 but he tore his ACL in spring training. His rookie year was 1995 and he was a major contributor to the Braves World Series Championship. Over the next 8 years he hit at least 25 HR and 100 RBI with a .300 average (except 21 HR and .295 in '97). He won the MVP award with a huge 1999 season.

After playing 8 All-Star caliber seasons at 3rd base, Chipper moved to left field in 2003 to allow for the Braves to sign Vinny Castilla which demonstrated his commitment to the team. In 2005, he moved back to 3rd base once Castilla had left the team. Since this time Jones has struggled with nagging injuries, however he has maintained his excellent hitting when he was in the lineup. After age 34, he hit .324, .337, and .364 in consecutive seasons. That last season, 2008, he won the National League batting title. Over the last two seasons age has taken its toll and he's fallen back to the pack as an average player.

For his career, Jones has 436 HR, 1,491 RBI, and a .306 average. He has the 3rd most homeruns all-time for a switch hitter behind Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murrey. He has never been linked to steroids even though the majority of his career was played during the steroid era in baseball. What none of these statistics show is the great leader he is, and how he has carried the Braves on his back for the majority of his career...and that includes unprecedented winning. Most baseball writers agree that Chipper Jones will be in the baseball Hall of Fame, and I believe he should be because of reasons listed above.

One of the amazing things about his career is that he was drafted by Bobby Cox and has played for Cox during his entire 16 year career. Managers just don't make it that long, and players usually don't stay with a team that long. The Braves record is 1,454 - 1,069 in the regular season and 47 - 44 in the postseason since Chipper began. Chipper Jones is the ultimate Atlanta Braves player, him and Cox are the Atlanta Braves.

It would be really sad to see his career end on an injury. Hopefully the injury can be rehabilitated quickly enough for him to at least play half of a season next year. But my gut feeling is that it will be too much work to try to play again since he was contemplating retirement anyway, and with Bobby Cox retiring Chipper's career is probably over. What makes it worse is that the Braves are in first place and they making one last run for him and Bobby. While his on-field production can be made up for with Omar Infante and Brooks Conrad, his leadership and experience will be missed down the stretch. It's too bad he went down like this.

JB