Chipper Jones A Biography

Chipper Jones is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman who spent his entire 19-year MLB career playing for the Atlanta Braves, and all 23 years as a professional baseball player in the Atlanta organization. Initially a shortstop, he was the Braves' primary starting third baseman for nearly all of the period from 1995-2012. In 2002 and 2003, Jones played left field before returning to third base in 2004. Standing 6' 4- (76 inches (190 cm)) tall and weighing 210 pounds (95 kg) during his playing career, Jones threw right-handed and was a switch hitter. The number one overall pick in the 1990 MLB draft by Atlanta, Jones made his MLB debut late in 1993. Between 1996 and 2003, he batted at least .300 with 26 home runs in seven of eight seasons. An eight time All-Star, he won the 1999 National League (NL) Most Valuable Player Award, and the 1999 and 2000 NL Silver Slugger Award for third basemen. He was the MLB batting champion in 2008 after hitting .364. He currently holds the Braves team record for career on-base percentage (.402), and on July 5, 2007, passed Dale Murphy for third place on the Braves all-time career home run list. Jones ended his career in 2012 with a .303 career batting average, with 468 home runs, 1,512 walks, and 1,623 RBI in 2,499 games with 8,984 at bats. He has the most career RBI for a third baseman. Also one of the most accomplished switch hitters in the history of the game, he finished behind only Eddie Murray for career RBI by switch hitters. He is the only switch hitter in MLB history with both a career batting average of at least .300 and 400 or more home runs. He was the eighteenth hitter in MLB history to accumulate 5,000 at bats and finish with at least a .300 batting average, .400 on-base percentage, and .500 slugging percentage, and the only switch hitter to reach all these milestones. When Jones was nearing retirement as a player, many baseball writers predicted that he would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as soon as he became eligible. On June 28, 2013, the Braves retired Jones' number 10 and inducted him into the team's Hall of Fame. In December 2015, Jones re-joined the Braves as special assistant to baseball operations.