Chipper Jones (2018)


Date of Birth: 4/24/1972
Birthplace: DeLand, Florida

Chipper Jones started playing Little League baseball at the age of seven. In high school, he was both a pitcher and a shortstop and he was successful at both positions. While in high school, he also played American Legion baseball.

Atlanta Braves

Jones was drafted by the Atlanta Braves on June 4, 1990. He was a first round draft pick and the first overall selection.

Jones played in the minor leagues from 1990 through 1992. He played in eight games with the Braves in 1993 and spent the rest of the season in the minors. He spent the entire 1994 season on the DL.

In 1995, his first full season in the major leagues, Jones batted .265 with 139 hits, 22 doubles, 23 home runs, 86 RBIs, and 99 strikeouts to 73 walks in 140 games. He won the Players Choice Outstanding Rookie of the Year award and the Sporting News Rookie of the Year award.

Jones' batting average went up to .309 in 1996. He finished the season with 185 hits, 32 doubles, 30 home runs, and 110 RBIs in 157 games. He showed excellent control at the plate, walking 87 times and striking out 88 times.

Jones had a career high 111 RBIs in 1997. He finished the season with 176 hits, 21 home runs, 20 stolen bases, and a .295 batting average in 157 games.

From 1998 through 2003, Jones had more walks than strikeouts in each season. He continued to show control at the plate, repeating that accomplishment in 2005, 2007-2010, and 2012.

In 1998, Jones played in a career high 160 games. He finished the season with 188 hits, 29 doubles, 34 home runs, 107 RBIs, and a .313 batting average. He walked 96 times and struck out 93 times.

The 1999 season was an especially strong one for Jones. That year, he won his first Silver Slugger award and the NL MVP award. He had career highs in home runs (45), stolen bases (25), and walks (126 to 94 strikeouts). He finished the season with 181 hits, 41 doubles, 110 RBIs, and a .319 batting average in 157 games.

Jones won his second Silver Slugger award in 2000, batting .311 with 180 hits, 38 doubles, 36 home runs, and a career high 111 RBIs in 156 games. He walked 95 times and struck out just 64 times. The following season, he had a career high 189 hits in 159 games. He finished the 2001 season with 33 doubles, 38 home runs, 102 RBIs, and a .330 batting average.

Jones continued playing well in 2002 and 2003, finishing with a .327 batting average in 2002, and a .305 batting average in 2003. He slumped in 2004, finishing with just 117 hits and a .248 batting average in 137 games.

Jones spent time on the DL in 2005 and 2006, limiting his playing time to 109 games in 2005 and 110 games in 2006. He had a .296 batting average in 2005, and he followed that with a .324 batting average the following season.

Jones came back from his injuries strong in 2007, leading the NL in OPS with 1.029. He finished the season with 173 hits, a career high 42 doubles, 29 home runs, 102 RBIs, and a .337 batting average. He walked 82 times and struck out 75 times.

In 2008, Jones led all of major league baseball in batting average with a career high .364. He also led the NL in on-base-percentage with .470. He finished the season with 160 hits, 24 doubles, 22 home runs, 75 RBIs, and 90 walks to 61 strikeouts in 128 games. The following season, his batting average dropped to .264 with 129 hits in 143 games.

Jones suffered from a knee injury in 2010 and his playing time was limited to 95 games. He finished with a .265 batting average. The following year, he batted .275 in 126 games. He was back on the DL in 2012, again with a knee injury. In 112 games in his final season, he batted .287 with 111 hits, 23 doubles, 14 home runs, and 62 RBIs. He still showed excellent control at the plate, walking 57 times and striking out 51 times.

Awards

  • NL MVP award
  • Silver Slugger award (2 times)

Career Statistics

Batting statistics for Jones in 18 seasons (1995-2012) in the major leagues include:

  • 10 seasons with 150 or more hits, with a high of 189 in 2001
  • 10 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 42 in 2007
  • 6 seasons with 30 or more home runs, with a high of 45 in 1999
  • 9 seasons with 100 or more RBIs, with a high of 111 in 1997 and 2000
  • 12 seasons with more walks than strikeouts, with a high of 126 walks in 1999
  • 10 seasons with a batting average of .300 or better, with a high of .364 in 2008

Career batting statistics for Jones include:

  • 2,499 games played
  • 2,726 hits
  • 549 doubles
  • 468 home runs
  • 150 stolen bases
  • 1,623 RBIs
  • 1,409 strikeouts to 1,512 walks
  • .303 batting average
  • .401 on-base percentage
  • .930 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Jones at third base include:

  • 1,992 games played
  • 3,447 assists
  • 276 double plays
  • 1,159 putouts
  • 223 errors
  • .954 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Jones include:

  • 12 postseasons
  • 93 games played
  • 97 hits
  • 18 doubles
  • 13 home runs
  • 47 RBIs
  • 61 strikeouts to 72 walks
  • .287 batting average

Post Playing Career

Jones retired as a major league player on October 29, 2012. He was hired as a Braves' advisor in 2016.

Jones was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018 on the first ballot with 97.2% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Chipper Jones
ESPN - Chipper Jones
Baseball Reference - Chipper Jones

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