Olde Man’s Tavern: Larry’s Place

We all know the draft in any sport is a hit or miss proposition. One team may view a player as a “can’t miss” and they do miss. Another could rate a player as a “career backup” and that player emerges to become a bonafide star. Then there are those that are #1 overall picks. The franchise rests on their shoulders. That holds true even more now than in the past. In the current sports environment of “win and win now”, high draft picks are not beneficiaries of being properly seasoned before being called up to the big club.

It’s funny how things work out in the long run. I don’t mean “ha ha” funny. I mean the strange kind of funny.

This week the Tavern goes from Citi Field in New York to Turner Field in Atlanta. The road trip constitutes 893 miles and almost 15 hours of travel. Since we’re on a low budget (gotta stop at all the good diners along the way), it’s by car.

In 1990, the Atlanta Braves selected a kid out of Jacksonville, Florida with the #1 overall selection in the draft, Larry Wayne Jones. You know him as Chipper. And despite being the top selection in the amateur draft, Chipper did spend 3+ seasons in the minors before hitting the major league scene. His minors career was impressive.

After signing as that top pick, Jones embarked on his trek to the bigs by playing in 44 games for the GCL Braves. He really wasn’t a success. Only one home run and 18 RBI had some scratching their heads, especially Bobby Cox.

You see, there was a bit of talk that Cox wanted the Braves to take a pitcher by the name of Todd Van Poppel as the top pick. Van Poppel was named 1990 Gatorade High School Player of the Year after a season of 11-3, 0.97 ERA and 170 strikeouts. Talk of that selection subsided when Van Poppel notified the Braves he would not sign with them if Atlanta chose him. The Braves chose Chipper, and as you always hear, the rest is history. It just took Chipper a bit to get his baseball feet back under him.

After that seemingly dismal season in rookie ball, Jones set out to reaffirm that Atlanta was indeed correct in taking him. For the 1991 season, he found himself in Single-A Macon. And he didn’t disappoint. Chipper posted an astounding season there hitting .326 with 15 HR and 98 RBI in 136 games. To add to the young Floridian’s season, he also stole 40 bases and hit 11 triples. A bit of pop with speed. It was looking like Atlanta chose wisely. And Chipper kept producing.

1992 saw Jones split his year between Durham (high A) and Greeneville (AA). His totals for 1992 are almost as impressive as his 1991 campaign with Macon. Once again, he hit over .300 (311), hit double-digits HR (13) and had 70+ RBI (73) in playing a combined 137 games. The speed aspect? 24 steals and 12 triples. And he didn’t really slow down in 1993 with Richmond either. Chipper batted .325 with 13 HR and 89 RBI to go along with 23 steals and 12 triples. Yes, the Braves had made the right choice and allowed Jones to mature as a player. Everything was adding up to a glorious major league career.

Then 1994 came along. It was expected that Chipper would vie for the left field starting job despite being originally drafted as a shortstop. The Braves incumbent in left, Ron Gant, had suffered a broken leg in a dirt bike accident. The prospects of Gant returning were slim and Jones eyed this opportunity to become a starter in the majors. That dream was short-lived as Jones also suffered an injury. Not a good one either. During spring training, Jones tore his ACL in his left knee and was done for the year. There was no saving grace even though the season was shortened due to a strike. In a sense, Chipper would have to prove himself again.

And he did just that. In 1995, he finished second in the Rookie of the Year balloting (Hideo Nomo of the Dodgers won the award) and he finished 18th in the MVP vote. In the ROY vote, he received ten first place votes. But it wasn’t the personal recognition that Chipper will remember from that 1995 season. It will be the World Series ring he and the Braves won in a six game series over the vaunted Cleveland Indians. No, his offense during 1995 wasn’t what everyone had witnessed during his minor league career, but Chipper was on his way to becoming one of this generation’s better players. Proof would follow in 1999 as he finally was rewarded with an MVP. The vote wasn’t even close as Jones received 29 of 32 first place votes. Houston’s Jeff Bagwell finished a very distant second place.

But there are a few odd facts about Chipper’s illustrious career that do not receive a lot of press.

1. Chipper has never struck out more than 100 times in a season. His highest total was 99 during his 1995 rookie season.
2. Chipper has achieved over 100 walks three times (1999, 2002, 2009).
3. Chipper accomplished 100+ RBI in eight consecutive seasons (1996-2003). He owns nine overall.
4. Chipper has topped or equaled the 30 HR mark six times although some view him as a power hitter. He’s hit .300 or better in 10 seasons.

I took this opportunity to point out those little tidbits about Chipper’s career for a reason. In June of this past season, rumors were swirling that 2010 would be his last. If that decision were to be, it made complete sense. Bobby Cox, a person who once did not want the Braves to take the shortstop as the top pick in the draft, was the only manager he’d ever had in the majors and Cox already made it public that 2010 would be his last as the Braves manager. Something wouldn’t feel right being in the dugout and Cox not there. But Jones called the gathered press together and made this announcement.

"“Honestly, I have not made a decision either way. Let’s face it, we all know, sort of, which way I’m leaning. But I think it’s best that we put this all behind us.”"

While the talk continued to grow that 2010 was the end of the road for Chipper, the speculation ramped up after a game against the Houston Astros in August.

On a grounder hit to his right off the bat of Hunter Pence, Jones fielded the ball and jumped in the air (ala Derek Jeter) in an attempt to record the out at first. As Jones came down, he heard a pop in his left knee. Yes, that very knee he injured during spring training in 1994. Irony would dig deeper after it was reveled that Jones tore his ACL…again. Retirement was certainly in the works now, right?

Not so says Chipper. According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, Jones will opt to rehab the knee and eye yet another big league season. Another media mass gathered after it was announced that Jones had once again wrecked his knee. Jones, once again, fended off the retirement issue.

"“I’m going to try my best to rehab it, get it ready for Spring Training, and we’ll see how it feels after that,” Jones said during a Friday afternoon press conference. “I think it would be wrong of me to make a decision to quit right now. Obviously, I’m pretty distraught about everything that has taken place in the last 48, 72 hours.”"

If Chipper elects to call it a career, the next question will be if he has the credentials to be elected to the Hall of Fame. His offensive numbers speak for themselves. Baseball Reference lists Jones as the 18th best in all-time batting. Let me repeat, all-time. The only players ahead of him that are not yet eligible for election are Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Manny Ramirez. There’s a strange underlying theme there in itself.

Look at those in the Hall that Chipper rates higher than. Frank Robinson, Mickey Mantle and George Brett.

Would I like to see Jones return in 2011? Sure. With Fredi Gonzalez already named as Cox’s successor, a bit of continuity should be there. The familiarity of Gonzalez will have something to do with his decision. It will depend on his knee, the grinds of rehab and spring training, and above all else, his family.

If he doesn’t, we all know where Larry Wayne Jones, I mean, Chipper, will be found next.