It seems that, at 38, all the years and all the little injuries may finally be taking their toll on Chipper Jones, as the Braves' star third baseman is thinking very strongly about hanging them up after the season:
Chipper Jones Strongly Considering Retirement After 2010
Struggling through another disappointing season, Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones told The Associated Press he would meet with team officials Tuesday to discuss his future and acknowledged that he’s considering retirement.
...
“It’s obvious that it’s something I’ve been thinking about,” Jones told the AP after arriving at Turner Field in his blue pickup truck about 2:15 p.m. “I need to go through the proper channels. Once those have all been taken care of, everybody’s questions will be answered.”
Worth noting is that Jones is currently under contract for $13m in 2011 and $13m in 2012. For him to retire after 2010, he would be walking away from a lot of money. But money is one thing of which Jones has no shortage, and if he feels he can no longer produce at a Major League level, he’ll call it quits to spare everyone the disappointment.
It’s been quite the fall from 2008, when Chipper led the bigs with a .364 average and a .470 OBP. Those two figures dropped to .264 and .388 in 2009, and currently stand at .228 and .375. The discipline remains, but his bat speed and agility in the field have slipped, to the point at which he’s hardly an approximation of the star player he once was. And given where he is in terms of years, it’s hard to imagine things suddenly turning around.
But we’ll see, as nothing’s yet official. For the record, two sources told David O’Brien that Chipper would be calling it quits, and Bobby Cox says that retirement is indeed the plan, but Chipper has yet to make an official statement.
Check out Talking Chop for more.
See More:
