TRIBUTE TO CHIPPER JONES

After an incredible nineteen year career with the Atlanta Braves, future first ballot Hall Of Fame third baseman Chipper Jones will finally call it quits after this season. As a die hard Braves fan this has been especially hard for me to deal with. Rooting for Chipper and the Braves has been a family tradition for as long as I can remember. A tradition that started by grandfather Harold Pace, who lived in Greenville, South Carolina. Greenville is a minor league affiliate for the Braves, and the place where our future superstars go to prepare themselves for the big leagues. In ’92 I can vividly remember Grandpa raving about the new shortstop (Chipper’s original position) from Florida who would “finally win us a championship!” I’d heard him get excited about minor leaguers before, and only being six at the time I couldn’t really identify individual players but something about this guy was special. The .346 BA .367 OBP and .594 SLG he posted in Greenville were more than enough to win over any fan but for me it all started with the name… Chipper! “Chipper Jones” sounded like the secret identity of a baseball super hero, like it was tailor made for ESPN and the cover of Sports Illustrated. I was hooked!
It was 1995 when Chipper made his major league debut, and as promised by my beloved grandfather he immediately lead us to the promise land. In his rookie season we beat the Cleveland Indians to win the World Series and I was absolutely beside myself. In my obnoxious nine year old glory I wholeheartedly believed that Chipper would then win a championship for us every year! I mean… he was a superhero! The Braves lost the World Series in seven games to the Minnesota Twins in 1991 and in six to the Blue Jays in 1992 before Chipper’s arrival. So clearly with him on third base we’d established an unstoppable dynasty, right? Gotta love that nine year old logic.
The Chipper-lead Braves won ten consecutive division titles from 1995 – 2004 and although Atlanta hasn’t won a championship since 95 they served as Major League Baseball’s model franchise for well over a decade. The sportsmanship, class, and dedication of Mr. Larry Jones Jr was unparalleled. He’s undoubtedly one of the best switch hitters and third basemen of all time and in my opinion the best player of his era.
Living in Brooklyn I wouldn’t get regional coverage of Braves games but thanks to Ted Turner’s TBS network (Thank GOD for TBS!!) I had the opportunity to watch them play everyday for years. I’ll always be a Braves fan but its going to be extremely hard knowing my main man will no longer be batting and playing third for us. Never again will I get to hear a stadium full of hopeless Mets fans chant “Laaaaaarryyy Laaaaaaarryyy” before he doubles in the game winning run. Or hear Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” as he leaves the on deck circle and approaches the plate. No more five-four-three double plays, no more walkoff home-runs, no more post game interviews. I’m very optimistic about the next generation of Braves players and the opportunity to pass the tradition on to my children and theirs, but there will always be a special place in my heart for the team I grew up with. Outside of family and friends how many things can maintain relevance in our lives for two decades? I’ve been alive for twenty-six years and Chipper Jones has been apart of nineteen of them, just as significant on my fifth birthday as my twenty fifth. Its been a pleasure tomahawk chopping for all these years and I’m looking forward to keeping it up in the future. On behalf of myself and more importantly my late grandfather Harold Pace I bid Farewell to the face of our franchise, the face of the NL East, and the face of Southern baseball. Goodbye, Chipper thanks for all the memories.

PUBLISHED 10/1/12
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