Gary Armida's Blog
Very few elite athletes get to finish their careers the way they script them. Most are often forced out because of injury or, worse yet, by the indignity of not being wanted. Numerous future Hall of Famers have experienced the last season during which there were points of embarrassment, ridicule, and even backlash from the once adoring fans.
It must be a difficult thing to deal with for an elite athlete. For their entire lives, they are told that they are the best; they have so many people fawning all over their every move. They get paid millions and see themselves on every highlight show at night. Then, it is all over. Their skills erode, another player takes over the elite mantle. Fans turn on them until they decide to take off the uniform. It all happens before most turn 40.
You can ask Ken Griffey Jr. about how quickly a fan base can turn on you during the last season of an all-time great career. At least he was on a team; guys like Frank Thomas were just left dangling on the free agent wire despite still having some ability to be productive. Usually, there is no Hollywood ending.
Chipper Jones is trying to change the script this season. Two years ago, Jones sounded like a man who was willing to hang them up after the season. The only Manager he ever played for, Bobby Cox, was retiring. Jones was disappointed after a difficult season in 2009. He swore that if he couldn’t meet his standards, he’d leave. But, his standards were so high that a 2009 season of .264/.388/.430 with 23 doubles, 18 home runs, and 71 RBI in 143 games was deemed as terrible.
All of that changed on August 10th 2010 during the bottom of the sixth inning with the Astros and Braves playing in a scoreless game. Jones made a backhand play at third base on a Hunter Pence ground ball and made a successful jump throw. But, he landed awkwardly on his left leg. The result was a torn ACL which required season ending surgery. He finished the 2010 season with a line of .265/.381/.426 with 21 doubles, 10 home runs, and 46 RBI in 95 games. The man who was openly thinking retirement was at a crossroads. He was immediately asked if he was done as a Major Leaguer. He wouldn’t answer, stating that he didn’t want to make a decision while he was at his lowest point.
He answered.
Jones came back last season and played in 126 games. At 39 years old, he clearly was a shell of his former self. But, there weren’t too many third basemen who hit .275/.344/.470 with 33 doubles, 1 triple, 18 home runs, and 70 RBI. For a player who was coming off of a major injury and was already wondering if he had something left, Jones answered all doubters with a very solid season during which he posted an OPS+ of 123.
Chipper Jones didn’t want his Hall of Fame career to end with an injury. He wants to finish it with dignity, grace, and, most importantly, production on the field. Jones, who in his 19th and final season at 40 years old, will attempt to do what has become the impossible. He will attempt to play a high level of baseball at an advanced baseball age for a team that has World Series hopes.
Jones will try for the happy ending, knowing that history doesn’t quite support his quest. Jones was able to come back from injury to play a key role in the Braves’ 89 win season. The Braves dramatically fell short of the playoffs, but Jones had come back from injury and was still one of the best hitters in the Braves lineup.
The storybook ending is beginning to take shape. Jones has missed some time this year, but the 40 year old is still the main cog in the Braves order. In 71 games, the switch hitter is batting .316/.395/.508 with 18 doubles, 10 home runs, and 48 RBI. The Braves are 43-28 with Jones in the lineup. Without the 40 year old manning the hot corner, they are 21-19. His 141 OPS+, .386 wOBA, and 145 wRC+ lead the Braves. And, even in his final season, his defensive play at third base is rated well by most metrics. UZR ranks him at 3.6 while DRS has him at plus-4.
His Braves have shown a resiliency after last season’s epic collapse. They are 64-47 and just four games behind the division leading Nationals. They hold a 3.5 game lead in the Wild Card race. For a player who has played in 20 postseason series, he may just go out in a playoff setting.
Jones is one of the few great players who actually was devalued during his career. He had the misfortune of playing during the same era as Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa. The homerun ball ruled supreme and while Jones could slug, he wasn’t a 50 home run hitter. He’s reached the 30 homerun barrier six times in his 18 years. He hit over 40 just once.
Jones’ skills were far beyond the prototypical slugging third baseman. His skills are the ones that are valued today: he’s patient, hits for power, uses the entire field, and hits equally well from both sides of the plate. For a while, Baseball lost sight of that type of skill set, instead focusing on mammoth power despite all of the strikeouts.
For his career, Jones is a .305/.402/.532 hitter. He has scored 1,601 runs, hit 544 doubles, 464 home runs, and has driven in 1,601 runs. From 1996 through 2003, Jones hit at least .295 in each season, while topping 29 doubles, 21 home runs, and 100 RBI in each year. During that period, his average season read .313/.410/.551 110 runs, 35 doubles, 32 home runs, 110 RBI, and 14 stolen bases.
While injuries took a toll on the second act of his career and limited him to playing in 140 games just once since 2004, Jones has still averaged a .301/.407/.527 batting line, 27 doubles, 22 home runs, and 78 RBI. Injuries have slowed Jones’ ability to compile the usual elite statistics, not a regression of talent. With age comes regression, but Jones has shown the ability to continue to perform to his career norms. While some of his power has regressed, Jones has increased his walk rate since 2008, walking 16.2 percent, up from his career average of 14.5 percent.
Chipper Jones isn’t playing to pad his resume or to reach certain milestones, he won’t reach the magic milestones of 500 and 3,000. He already has the Hall of Fame resume. He came back for a couple of reasons. He wants to win and the Braves are expected to compete. He came back to find a way to peacefully end his career. He didn’t get that opportunity in 2010 because of a jump throw that went bad. He is trying to have that this season. There are send offs and ceremonies in each city. But, he is really here to compete, to play a game that he has been blessed to play for his entire life, and to wrap up his career on his own terms. For that and a multitude of other reasons, it is easy to root for Chipper Jones. Hopefully, he gets to do what the Ken Griffey Jr. and Frank Thomas were unable to do.
The Braves need that and given the general lack of respect given to veteran players, Baseball needs that. Chipper Jones needs that; we’ll cheer at every moment.
We will cheer every moment not only because it is his last season. We cheer it because an era is passing. The era of the classic Braves teams is almost gone. It will leave with Jones. Very few of his contemporaries are left. The new stars have already taken over, but there is something about watching Jones and players like Derek Jeter defy age and continue to play on an above average level. They take us back to a younger, simpler time. As long as they are on the field, that part of our lives still exist. Jones will leave at season’s end. We are one step closer to that part of our lives being closed. For that, we’ll root Jones on so he can finish with the grace and dignity that marked his entire career. We’ll hope for all of those great moments to happen for him just one last time. Then, after a five year wait, we’ll see him again. This time it will be in Cooperstown, New York. It will be then that Jones gets placed where he belongs amongst the greatest to ever play the game.
We rarely get a chance to give a proper goodbye. We generally are not good with them, but this time Chipper Jones is giving us that opportunity. Let’s take advantage of it and properly honor one of Baseball’s best players and even better people.
We may have pushed him aside because of the gaudy home run numbers of others. But now?
Now is our chance to fix that.
# 3
Hunkerdown @ Aug 9
Excellent write up, if we had more players emulating Chipper Jones, baseball would be at a all time high, and the steroid era would easily be forgotten. Since I am old enough to remember going to Braves games pre-chipper and Bobby Cox (can you say Dale murphy, Bob Horner, baby blue unis, not many wins) him finishing his career is even more special. I was there for his first, and will be there for his last(hopefully WS), and many in between. Here is to #10 and the 1st round ballot HF he shall receive.
# 4
frankwyte81 @ Aug 9
You did a great job on this article. Chipper will go down, not only as one of the great Braves' players, but one great players in league history. I tried my best to make as many Braves games as I could this year, I want to watch him play as much as possible. Chipper is the man and in this steroid driven era, his career can back me up on that. Oh yes, all hail Chipper!!!
# 5
SkillzKillz719 @ Aug 10
Great article, I thought it was cool that he got to do it like this. Wish more people could have it like this 
Gary Armida
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You definitely nailed it about Chipper being the last tie to that championship Braves era, that's a big part of the reason I hate to see him go. But it's nice to see him going out playing very good ball and the respect that he is given.