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Biography

Larry Wayne Jones, Jr. (born April 24, 1972 in DeLand, Florida) is better known as Chipper Jones. He plays third base, but was a minor league shortstop and played outfield for part of his MLB career.

Jones was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 1st round (1st pick) of the 1990 amateur draft. He made a quick jump through the minotes to make his major league debut on September 11, 1993.

After sitting out the entire 1994 season with an ACL tear in his left knee, Jones came back strong in 1995, leading all major league rookies in RBI (86), games played (145), games started (123), plate appearances (602), at-bats (524), and runs scored (87). He eventually went on to win The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award, and finished second in the BBWAA Rookie of the Year balloting behind Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo.

In 1999, Jones won the National League MVP award after hitting .319 with 45 home runs and 110 RBI. Jones led the Braves to the World Series against the New York Yankees that year, in which the Braves were swept. He did, however, hit their only home run in the series, against Yankees starter Orlando Hernandez.

Before the start of the 2002 season, Jones announced his willingness to move from third base to left field to make room for the incoming Vinny Castilla. Jones proved adequate in left field, but following a hamstring pull in the early 2004 season, he moved back to third base.

On August 16, 2004 Jones hit the 300th home run of his career in a 5-4 victory over the San Diego Padres.

In an 11-season career, Jones is a .303 hitter with 331 home runs and 1111 RBIs in 1651 games. Many consider Jones one of the game's best all-around hitters.

He is the only switch hitter in Major League Baseball history to have a .300+ career batting average and more than 300 home runs. Mickey Mantle, arguably the greatest switch hitter of all time, ended his career with a .298 batting average.

Jones has emerged as a team leader in recent years and is well-respected in the clubhouse. Following the 2005 season, Jones reworked his contract with Braves to give free up more money to pursue elite free agents, as well as virtually assure he will end his career in Atlanta. The revamped deal returns to the Braves fifteen million dollars over the course of the next three years, as well as six million to use in 2006. In return, the Braves converted two final team option years into guaranteed contracts.

Jones was selected to play in the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic. He hit a homerun in his first at bat of the classic against Mexico, in fact prior to the at bat Chipper told a coach that he would hit a homerun on the first strike he saw. This would be the game winning run for Team U.S.A. against Mexico.

Awards and Accomplishments

  • 5-time All-Star (1996-98, 2000-01)
  • National League MVP (1999)
  • 2-time Silver Slugger at 3rd Base (1999-2000)
  • TSN Rookie of the Year (1995)

Trivia

  • Jones played baseball at The Bolles School, an elite North Florida prep school.
  • Jones is an avid hunter and owns the Double Dime Ranch near Carrizo Springs, Texas.
  • Jones' first wife, since divorced, was Karin (pronounced CAR-in) and his current wife is Sharon.
  • In 1998, Jones was a subject of scandal due to his fathering of a child out of wedlock (with a Hooters waitress).
  • Jones and his second wife (Sharon) have three children, Larry Wayne III (Trey), Tristen, and Shea, named after Shea Stadium, where Jones hit his first major league home run on May 9, 1995.
  • Jones enters the batter's box to the Ozzy Osbourne song "Crazy Train".

Scouting Report

Statistics

<stats> Player=Chipper Jones Type=Batting </stats>

Batting

 Year Ag Tm  Lg  G   AB    R    H   2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG *OPS+  TB   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP 
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 1993 21 ATL NL   8    3    2    2   1  0   0    0   0  0   1   1  .667  .750 1.000  362    3   0   0   0   0   0
 1995 23 ATL NL 140  524   87  139  22  3  23   86   8  4  73  99  .265  .353  .450  109  236   1   4   1   0  10 MVP-18,RoY-2
 1996 24 ATL NL 157  598  114  185  32  5  30  110  14  1  87  88  .309  .393  .530  136  317   1   7   0   0  14 MVP-4,AS
 1997 25 ATL NL 157  597  100  176  41  3  21  111  20  5  76  88  .295  .371  .479  119  286   0   6   8   0  19 MVP-9,AS
 1998 26 ATL NL 160  601  123  188  29  5  34  107  16  6  96  93  .313  .404  .547  146  329   1   8   1   1  17 MVP-9,AS
 1999 27 ATL NL 157  567  116  181  41  1  45  110  25  3 126  94  .319  .441  .633  175  359   0   6  18   2  20 SS,MVP-1
 2000 28 ATL NL 156  579  118  180  38  1  36  111  14  7  95  64  .311  .404  .566  142  328   0  10  10   2  14 SS,MVP-11,AS
 2001 29 ATL NL 159  572  113  189  33  5  38  102   9 10  98  82  .330  .427  .605  162  346   0   5  20   2  13 MVP-8,AS
 2002 30 ATL NL 158  548   90  179  35  1  26  100   8  2 107  89  .327  .435  .536  155  294   0   5  23   2  18 MVP-11
 2003 31 ATL NL 153  555  103  169  33  2  27  106   2  2  94  83  .305  .402  .517  141  287   0   6  13   1  10 MVP-25
 2004 32 ATL NL 137  472   69  117  20  1  30   96   2  0  84  96  .248  .362  .485  117  229   0   7   8   4  14
 2005 33 ATL NL 109  358   66  106  30  0  21   72   5  1  72  56  .296  .412  .556  147  199   0   2   5   0   9
 2006 34 ATL NL 110  411   87  133  28  3  26   86   6  1  61  73  .324  .409  .596  157  245   0   4   4   1  12 MVP-20
 2007 35 ATL NL 126  486  101  165  41  4  26   96   5  1  77  72  .340  .427  .601  166  292   0   4   9   0  20
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 14 Seasons         6871      2109     34     1293     43    1078  .307  .403  .546  144        3  74 120  15 190
               1887      1289      424    383      134   1147                            3750
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 162 Game Avg        590  111  181  36  3  33  111  12  4  98  93  .307  .403  .546  144  322   0   6  10   1  16
 Career High    160  601  123  189  41  5  45  111  25 10 126  99  .340  .441  .633  175  359   1  10  23   4  20

External links

References


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Chipper Jones

Chip1023

Position: Third Base

Team: Atlanta Braves

Uniform Number: 10

Years in League: 13

Age: 35

Height: 6'4"

Weight: 220 lbs (100 kg)

Bats: Switch

Throws: Right

College: None

Selection: 1st round (1st pick) amateur draft, 1990.

Drafted By: Atlanta Braves

Major League Debut: September 11, 1993

Salary: $13,666,667

Date of Birth: April 24, 1972

Place of Birth: DeLand, Florida

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