Chipper

 Apart from John Wayne, my dad, and possibly Winston Churchill, my heroes are those who excelled in sports. It’s not surprising since playing and watching sport has played a major role in my life much to the chagrin of my late mum and various school teachers. I could absorb sporting statistics without blinking an eye while attempting to memorize a chemical formula or an extract from a Shakespeare play was way beyond me.

There are sporting heroes and then there are sporting icons. Icons are those who for some illogical reason are referred to by one handle; it could be their first name, last name or even a nickname. Examples include Ali, Pele, Maradona, Tiger, Puskas, De Stefano, or Ivor. Larry Wayne Jones Junior falls into the icon category. Universally known as Chipper, he has been a fixture in the Atlanta Braves line up since 1995.

 He is 38 years old and for most of the season was struggling to recapture the form of a man previously revered as a Mets killer and the only hitter in the Braves line up that the New York Yankees feared. During the past month, Chipper was proving to critics, including myself, that there was life in the old dog until he tore his ACL making a defensive play at 3rd base. The Astros’ Hunter Pence ripped a ball down the 3rd base line. Chipper back handed the ball, twisted in the air while leaping towards the floodlights, and hurled a strike toward 1st base; nailing the batter by two feet.

Between the grab, the plant, the leap and the throw, Chipper damaged parts of the same ACL that he did in 1994 when he was a 21 year old rookie. He had an MRI performed a couple of days later which confirmed that he would miss the rest of the season  which possibly could signal the end of his career. Unlike Brett Favre, Chipper underwent surgery at the earliest opportunity which offered him the best possible chance of making spring training and a shot at making the starting line up come next April. I could be cynical and mention that he has a $28 million contract sitting on the table if he successfully makes it through rehab. But understandably, he wants to leave the Braves under his own terms and not because of an unfortunate injury.

I have lived in Atlanta since 1996 and I have followed his career closely. I hate the damn Yankees but they were absolutely spot on when they targeted Chipper has the danger man in the Braves line up. Quite frankly he was the only professional hitter on the team capable of hitting the ball to all sides of the field compared to the hackers who have plied their trade down the years at Turner Field.

 In the late nineties, the Braves v Mets rivalry was at its most intense and the difference between the two teams was Chipper. As a bizarre mark of respect, fans of opposing teams boo the star player on the other team and Chipper was no exception. When Chipper came up to bat, the Mets fans decided to chant his real name “Larry, Larry” continuously under the ridiculous notion it would upset him. Chipper’s reply was to blast the ball over their heads and contemptuously round the bases for yet another home run at Shey Stadium. Chipper loved playing at the stadium so much that he named one of his sons Shey.

Baseball is obsessed with stats and Chipper’s career stats are worth noting: batting average: .306, HRs: 436, RBIs: 1491, hits: 2487. Now the arguments will rage on whether he deserves to be a future hall of famer, and as a switch hitter, his achievements will be compared to Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray; two hall of fame switch hitters. Mantle hit 536 HRs, 1509 RBIs, and batted for a .298 average. Murray hit 504 HRs, 1917 RBIs and finished with a batting average of .287. Some skeptics will claim that Chipper needed to accumulate over 500 homers to be considered for the hall of fame but that would be too simplistic.

He made his big league debut in September 1993, but ironically missed the entire 1994 season with a torn knee ligament. He came back in 1995 and hit 86 RBIs in his rookie season. He also hit 3HRs in the 1995 post season as the Braves won the World Series.

Chipper is the only switch hitter in Major League Baseball history to have a .300+ career batting average and 400 or more home runs. He is third on the all-time list for home runs by a switch hitter. He accumulated 8 consecutive 100+ RBI seasons (1996-2003) and 14 consecutive 20+ HR seasons (1996-2003.) He was named the National League MVP in 1999 when he hit .319 with 45 HRs and 119 RBIs and stole 25 bases. When many fans thought his career was on the wane, he won the NL 2008 batting title (& MLB) with a season average .364.

He has virtually carried the Braves offense on his back for almost 15 years and understandably he is the Braves’ all-time leader (since the move back to Atlanta in 1966) in hits, home runs and RBIs. Chipper has regularly proved to be a team player; none more so when he volunteered to play left field to accommodate Vinny Castilla at 3rd Base. By his own admission he played a moderate left field in 2002 and 2003 until moving back to 3rd base in 2004. Some of the prima donnas dotted around the league would not have countenanced such a move fearing damage to their fragile egos and stats.

I have also had some harsh words to say about Chipper’s niggling injuries over the last few seasons, but only because his exclusion from the team considerably reduced their chances of winning. In his prime, and you needed a man to hit a baseball to save your life, I would choose Chipper without fear of hesitation. I bid him a fond farewell if the defensive play on the road at Houston is the last time we see him on the diamond. But I have a feeling that Chipper’s name will be penciled into the line up on opening day next season. In terms of our chances of making the playoffs, let’s win one for the Chipper.

9 Responses to “Chipper”

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