Chipper Jones’ Hall Of Fame Case: Much Stronger Than His Knee

On Thursday, we’ve learned that Chipper Jones is out for the season with a torn ACL. The short-term consequence is that the Braves, who are trying to send manager Bobby Cox to the playoffs one last time, will have to find a way to fend off the Phillies without him, but just as concerning is the fact that Jones was already considering retirement before the injury occurred.

Color commentary types from opposing teams’ broadcasts routinely assert that Jones is a future Hall of Famer, but they tend to toss that praise like confetti. Will he really reach the Hall? Well, to begin, let’s take a look at the stats.

Jones has played in the thick of baseball’s steroid era. He has never been associated with PED use, but has still managed to mash 436 home runs. More to the point, though, he was an all-around outstanding hitter. He has a .941 career on-base plus slugging percentage, which ties him with Willie Mays at 29th on the all-time list. His OPS was greater than 1.000 in five seasons.

Starting at age 32, Jones began to experience injuries by the boatload, and his career appeared to be on the decline. He responded by evolving into one of the best contact hitters in the game, posting a .364 batting average at age 36, while still managing to hit a decent number of home runs.

Now, if these stats aren’t shoo-in numbers, and if they existed in a vacuum, it’s hard to say whether he’d be voted into the Hall of Fame. Jones, though, is the exact sort of player that voters like, and for several reasons:

Voters are also capable of taking injuries into account. If this injury does indeed send him into retirement, they’ll know that he lost a couple of years at the end of his career, as well as the 1994 season, and that he played through pain for years.
As noted above, he was free of PED-related troubles.
Given these factors, I would argue that Chipper’s induction to the Hall of Fame is overwhelmingly likely. Regardless of how voting turns out, Chipper has made his presence known in baseball, and not just with his bat. He may very well be one of baseball’s all-time greatest heels, thanks to his relationship with Mets fans -- he named his kid Shea, which is funny no matter how many times announcers glibly remind us of it.

Chipper seemed to love the scorn from Mets fans and didn’t hesitate to return with volleys of his own, as demonstrated by one of my favorite all-time baseball quotes, uttered after the Braves defeated the Mets to face the Yankees in the 1999 World Series:

“Now all the Mets’ fans can go home and put their Yankees stuff on,” Jones said at the time.

The chants of “Larry” at Shea Stadium (and later Citi Field) were downright anthemic. Maybe once he retires, Chipper will finally turn to Mets fans and say, “what? What did you want?” And they will reply, “oh, nothing.” We need closure on this matter.

Of course, Jones was loved by Braves fans even more than he was hated by Mets fans. Though he never won a Gold Glove, fans will still remember the hundreds of ground balls he charged and flung to first, and all the steps he took into foul territory to make an out.

He has constructed a remarkable legacy, and whenever he leaves the game, it will be something less than it was.