Chipper Jones' Place in History

[Cover Story]

A Place In

History

Where does Chipper Jones rank among the all-time greats? [ By Carl Danbury and Steve Eubanks ]

T

ed Williams hit .406 in 1941, the last person to have hit .400 or better for an entire major league season. Some of the great hitters in the game couldn’t match the feat. Tony Gwynn couldn’t do it. George Brett couldn’t do it. Rod Carew couldn’t do it. Ichiro Suzuki couldn’t do it. And, Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones probably won’t hit .400 this season either.

But every so often during a specific baseball season, the spotlight shines brightly on a player or two, and enables baseball historians, media and fans to contemplate a player’s rank among others in the game. During Pete Rose’s 44-game hitting streak in 1978, we wondered if he would come close to Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game streak and whether or not Ty Cobb’s record for lifetime hits was safe. Then, we contemplated Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire during their assault on Roger Maris’ record of 61 home runs. We wondered about Cal Ripken’s consecutive game streak and his place in baseball lore when he approached, then surpassed Lou Gehrig’s record of 2,130.

Recently, Jones clobbered his 400th career home run, placing him with Eddie Murray and Mickey Mantle as the only switch hitters to have 400 or more dingers in a career.

While that milestone put Jones in rarified company his .420 batting average through the Braves first 64 games is more compelling.

Jones played in 58 of those 64 games, and since April 13 (47 in a row), his batting average exceeded .400. Jones has been held hitless in just eight games all season and has had two or more hits in 30 games. There is no precedent for these numbers during Jones’ 15-season career. Prior to this season, the latest date in which he held a .400 average or greater during his prior 15 seasons was April 24.

Consider the attention or scrutiny Jones will garner if he’s batting .400 at the All-Star break? Yankee Stadium: home of the greatest switch hitter of all-time, Mickey Mantle, in the last-ever Midsummer Classic to be held there before it gives way to the new stadium in 2009?

The player with the highest batting average recorded at age 36 was Hall-of-Fame outfielder Zack “Buck” Wheat. He hit .3746 in 1924 for the Brooklyn Robins, renamed the Dodgers in 1932.

Jones can eclipse the mark by hitting .3403 for the remainder of the season.

Before the spotlight on Jones gets too intense, attempting to determine where he fits among the all-time greatest switch hitters and third basemen isn’t an easy task.

The 36-year-old native of that goo-rich mosquito farm known as Deland, Fla., hasn’t been mentioned with Mantle and Murray very often, despite carrying a .310 lifetime batting average, banging 400 home runs, being a six-time All-Star, the 1999 National League MVP and a 1995 World Series champion.

Chris Dimino, a baseball historian and sports talk radio host for 790 the Zone in Atlanta, has covered the Braves for many years and has interviewed Jones often during his career. Dimino believes Jones’ legacy will be enhanced during the next few months of the current season, regardless of how he finishes.

“As far as switch hitting is concerned, I think Chipper is only behind Mantle,” Dimino said. “And that means I am putting him ahead of Pete Rose and Eddie Murray.

“It’s tough to chase down a ghost and Mickey Mantle is a ghost because of the enormous potential he had. People want to add numbers to Mantle’s statistics in their mind because if he hadn’t been hurt so often or took care of himself better, he would have had ridiculous numbers,” Dimino said.

“Remember, Mantle had a great baseball name, played the most recognizable position for the most recognizable team in baseball, won three MVP awards, played in 13 World Series, wore No. 7, won the Triple Crown in 1956 and chased Babe Ruth’s home run record with Roger Maris. Chipper has none of that legend, lore or reverence.

“But this isn’t a season that people can say it’s-a-oncein-a-lifetime thing or this is just a great story for two months.

This is a guy who at 36 is getting even better, which is not supposed to happen in this game. And he already has put together numbers to justify a Hall-of-Fame career,” Dimino said.

During the initial two-plus months of the season, Jones has been in a zone.

©AP Photo/Todd Bennett

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Chipper Jones told me I had to pick one guy at third base for one game that I needed to “win,If you I’m picking Chipper Jones over Mike Schmidt. I think he is a better all-around hitter than Schmidt, he’s a switch hitter and I’d rather have his four or five at-bats than Schmidt’s.

Chris Dimino | Baseball historian and sports talk radio host for 790 the Zone in Atlanta

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©AP Photo/Kathy Willens

“It is an amazing thing to watch a guy who has a plan going to the batters box. Five out of 10 times you get yourself out, and you’re hoping the pitcher you are facing only gets you out two of the other five times. You get your three hits out of 10 and become a multi-millionaire. Right now, Chipper isn’t getting himself out more than once every 10 times to the plate. If you make a mistake or give him a pitch to hit, he is going to tattoo it,” Dimino said.

If former Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt is the standard bearer at the hot corner since 1970, then Jones and former Royals great George Brett are neckand-neck for being considered No. 2, according to Dimino.

“I think it’s Schmidt with George Brett and Chipper standing side-by-side, and I think Chipper has a chance to chase down Schmidt. If you don’t include Alex Rodriguez as a third baseman, but as a shortstop, then I think Chipper will be regarded as one of the greatest to play that position.

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“I am going to say something that might be considered blasphemous,” Dimino stated. “If you told me I had to pick one guy at third base for one game that I needed to win, I’m picking Chipper Jones over Mike Schmidt. I think he is a better all-around hitter than Schmidt, he’s a switch hitter and I’d rather have his four or five at-bats than Schmidt’s.”

While many believe Schmidt’s fielding prowess is far superior to Jones’, the pair’s career fielding percentages are within .001 of one another.

“He was robbed of a Gold Glove last year,” Dimino said. “That’s the one honor that he hasn’t won, and I don’t think not winning individual awards irks him, but I think he wants to win that one.”

If Jones is solid at his position and is a switch hitter that hits for average and with power, then why doesn’t he get more respect from baseball fans and the media?

Part of it could be his perceived personality. In seasons past, he seemed to take a casual, almost pulsefree approach to the game, so much so that he could put a damper on a Mardi Gras parade. Chipper simply didn’t live up to his nickname. In short, he was no ray of sunshine.

Dimino said he has seen that side of Jones, but feels Chipper has changed.

“Right now, he is more at ease than he ever has been in his career. He doesn’t carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. I’ve seen a different guy during the past two years than I did before. He’s more focused and more engaging,” Dimino said. “He is enjoying the game more than he ever has. He has talked to everyone [the media] about his past, switch hitting, his 400 home runs. This guy didn’t exist a few years ago.”

Regardless of Jones’ baseball legacy or how long his average stays north of .400, watching a hitter outperform everyone else in the game is rare.

“When you’re hitting .405 and you raise your average 13 points during a four-game series (Chipper played in three of four games against Florida in early June), that is remarkable,” Dimino offered. “There are no pitchers that were better than him for more than two months. That kind of thing just doesn’t happen often.”

And the longer the spotlight shines, Jones’ place among baseball’s greats will be enhanced. SU