Top 106 Baseball Players: #34 - Chipper Jones

Chipper Jones

Chipper Jones was one of the greatest switch-hitters in history, and was the best offensive player on the Braves teams that dominated their division through the 1990's with their pitching.

Jones was the #1 overall pick in 1990, and was called up to the Braves late in the 1993 season, going 2-3 in a brief stint with the team. Jones was expected to become a starter for the Braves in 1994 after an injury to Ron Gant, but he tore his ACL in Spring Training and missed the entire season.

After rehabbing, he became the starting third baseman in 1995 and was the runner-up for Rookie of the Year. He was a big contributor to Atlanta's World Series title that season, batting .364 during their postseason run with 10 runs scored, 9 walks, and 8 RBI in what would be his only championship season.

The next season was one of 6 in a row with at least 100 runs scored and 100 RBI, and he also hit over .300 with 30 home runs in 5 of those seasons. The Braves returned to the World Series that year, and Jones had nearly identical stats to the previous postseason, but this time they fell to the Yankees in 6 games.

In 1999 he won his only MVP award after batting .319 with 116 runs, 110 RBI, and career highs with 45 home runs and 126 walks while leading the Braves to another division title. They returned to the World Series that year, but Jones was not up to his previous postseason standards, and they were swept by the Yankees.

Jones continued his strong play for Atlanta for over a decade, and he had two of his best seasons in his mid-30's. He set a new career high in 2007 with a .337 average, then bested that average the next season, when he led the league with a .364 average, the second-highest ever for a switch-hitter.

He finished his career with a .303 average, and hit above .300 from each side of the plate for his career, one of only 2 players ever to accomplish that. Only Eddie Murray had more RBI's as a switch-hitter, and he is the only switch-hitter with a .300 average and at least 400 homers. Jones is among the Braves' all-time leaders in most offensive categories, and did it equally well from each side of the plate, and he is one of the greatest baseball players of all time.