Baseball Hall of Fame: Chipper Jones projected to be leading vote-getter
Atlanta Braves all-time great Chipper Jones is expected to lead the Baseball Hall of Fame selectees when the results are revealed tonight.
The Academy Awards of Major League Baseball hits the prime-time tonight, with the announcement of the Baseball Hall of Fame 2018 inductees, revealing at 6:00 p.m EST. The ballot consists of 33 former MLB greats, looking to up their game into baseball legends status.
Among those select few on the ballot is former Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones. His resume is among the all-time greats, rivaling those already etched into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- Atlanta Braves Number 10 retired
- World Series champion (1995)
- 8-time National League All-Star (1996–1998, 2000, 2001, 2008, 2011, 2012)
- National League Most Valuable Player (1999)
- 2× Silver Slugger Award (1999, 2000)
- MLB and National League batting champion (2008)
- Career batting average: .303
- Career hits: 2,726
- Home runs: 468
- Career RBI: 1,623
Ironically, Chipper Jones did not make the NL All-Star team the season he won the NL MVP — but what do us fans truly know? Not much, evidently.
Hopefully, the Baseball Hall of Fame voters are more perceptive than we are, where they are projected to give him the majority of the votes for the 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame class.
My official Hall of Fame ballot: Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero and Trevor Hoffman should be locks this year, and one day, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens will be joining them. pic.twitter.com/mH3b9MpOfk
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 23, 2018
Now, Jones won’t receive 100% of the votes, but he will likely rival some of the all-time greats:
- Ken Griffey Jr.: 99.3 %
- Tom Seaver: 98.8 %
- Hank Aaron: 97.8 %
- Greg Maddux: 97.2 %
- Babe Ruth: 95.1 %
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If the Sultan of Swine, The Kid, and Henry (Hank) Aaron aren’t unanimous selections, then no one ever will be. However, Jones deserves to be in the same class as these legends.
Ultimately, you would think it’s irrelevant if a player spends his entire career donning the same jersey, but that has to be worth something. Jones played his entire career with the Atlanta Braves, becoming the face of the franchise and one of the MLB poster boys in the process.
AJC sports writer Jeff Schultz was able to expose the humility and lighthearted nature of Chipper Jones in an interview following his 2010 knee surgery.
“If they think I’m doing this for the money, they obviously haven’t seen my bank account. I’ve never played this game for money. Nor will I… I play this game because I love my teammates.”
Jones’ love for the game was fully-expressed during his MLB career with the Atlanta Braves, where he wore his heart on his sleeve every play. He also did not care what the cynical baseball fan or (at-times) ruthless media said about him.
Next: Breaking down the MLB Hall of Fame ballot
Chipper Jones has always been a unique individual and being Chipper Jones is enough for him. It’s also enough for a Baseball Hall of Fame selection, where he’s projected to receive the majority of tonight’s votes. See you in Cooperstown, Chipper.