Chipper Jones - deserving of Hall of Fame? Why or why not?

Answer 1

I would say he will be. This also assumes at least a couple more good seasons--not a stretch, given that last season was one of his better ones.

Granted, he is not very good defensively. However, he has been a consistently effective offensive force for well over a decade. I am not a fan of his, but I think he is easily the best 3rd basemen of his generation (Alex Rodriguez is still more of a shortstop in my mind). Wright looks like he will be better and Rolen is a superior glove man, but Jones would be the likely pick for a team of his generation.

The Hall should put Santo in among neglected third basemen, but they should--and I think will--find room for Jones in about 10 years.

Steve M--nice condensed version of James' "Keltner list," by the way!

Answer 2

He will probably get in because the hall of fame is now the hall of good. There is no doubt he is a good player. Given the relative few number of third-basemen in the hall, he will probably get in. i have a few problems with Chipper. First of all, he is only a mediocre defensive 3rd basemen. He was considered such a liability that they move him to left field. Then moved him back because if your gonna pay someone as much as he makes, might as well play him a third base where he has more value. He also has good numbers but not great when you consider the era he played in. 375 HR's don't mean as much in today's game. The .308 average is pretty impressive. The world championship is nice, but only one ring in 14 consecutive trips to the playoffs is less than impressive. Most people would say the 14 trips had more to do with Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz than the offensive firepower of that lineup. Jones will probably eventually get in after he hangs it up, but it will probably take a few times to get in.

Answer 3

Listen to the Braves fan.

Chipper Jones is deserving. He was the Braves most feared hitter of the 90's. He's won an M.V.P. award as well.

The one downside is that critics may bring up the years where he was often injured and his numbers weren't as large as before. It's the same argument with Don Mattingly, but Jones has already eclipsed his numbers.

Yes, maybe not a first ballot, but he will be a Hall of Famer.

Answer 4

Well, given that no one has REALLY defined what makes one a deserving Hall of Famer.....or not....yet...it's a rather subjective endeavor, after all.

Since some think 6 very great years make a H of F'er, as in Koufax, Klein and Chance....
.....and being that some think a lot of long, very good careers, with a great year mixed in now and again...think Rizzuto, Drysdale, Molitor make H of F'ers.

And...since statistics are often as indicative of the game itself than of the players....unless you believe all the great sluggers played in the last 20 years, and the great pitchers all played in the 60's and 70's and all the great Batting Average hitters played in the 20's and 30's.

So, I use my own informal study, of a players greatness.

1. Was he often the best player on the field?
2 Was he usually the best player on his team?
3. Given him being the best player on his team..is that team championship caliber?
4. Did he, in fact drive teams to championships, and did he in fact play for champion teams?
5. Was he an MVP, did people who watch him play consider him to be an MVP caliber player at his prime?
6. When his best years were done, and he was on his last legs...could he still play well and contribute to champion style teams?
7. Was he a regular fixture an All Star Teams?


These are more indicative of a Hall of Famer to me than how many homers he hit...think Rafael Palmeiro.....

I think the answers to all those questions are an absolute "yes."

Chipper Jones is a sure fire Hall of Famer...may not be a 1st ballot guy...but he is an absolute lock.

Answer 5

Chipper Jones is the best player for the Braves.

Answer 6

His numbers are all there when he retires unless he falls apart and I don't see that happening. On a separate note, Jones is in some very elite company at the moment, being second only to Mantle for most home runs by a switch hitter.

Answer 7

Yes, but not for many years.

5 time All-Star, 2 Silver Slugger Awards, 1999 National League MVP.

Led the NL in Runs Created in 1999.

Led the NL in Adjusted Batting Runs and Batting Wins in 1999 & 2007

Led the NL in OPS & Offensive Win % in 2007

.Career numbers: 403 on-base percentage, .546 slugging percentage, .950 OPS, 386 home runs, 1,299 RBI, 1,152 Walks, 1,563 Runs Created, 477 adjusted batting runs, 44.2 batting wins, 845 Extra-Base hits, .714 offensive win %, 121 intentional walks, 17.9 at bats per home run.

Helped the Braves win 1 NL Western Division Championship, 10 NL Eastern Division Championships, 2 NL Pennants and the 1995 World Series.

Atlanta Braves All-Time OPS & Offensive Win % Leader. Closing in on Braves all-time doubles & sacrifice flies record. Holds Braves single season record for times on base (309 in 1999).

However other players like Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Gary Sheffield, Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey, Jeff Bagwell, Larry Walker and Rafael Palmeiro should be inducted first.

Answer 8

Yes, but I don't know about first ballot. He's still a top tier player- look at his numbers from this year. True he likely won't get 3000 hits or 500 home runs, but you don't NEED those numbers to get in, it just helps a lot.

Answer 9

He's border-line right now, but if he puts in a few more years, maybe. It would have helped a lot if he could have pulled off the batting title in '07, but he's pretty good anyway. I'd say we'll have to wait a couple of seasons and see.

Answer 10

Yeah, he totally deserves it. He has done really well all through his career,plus he's 1 of my favorite players.