{"id":5386,"date":"2010-10-14T00:18:22","date_gmt":"2010-10-14T04:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prosebeforehos.com\/?p=5386"},"modified":"2014-02-24T13:33:48","modified_gmt":"2014-02-24T18:33:48","slug":"athlete-dying-old-chipper-jones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prosebeforehos.com\/sports-editor\/10\/14\/athlete-dying-old-chipper-jones\/","title":{"rendered":"To An Athlete Dying Old – Chipper Jones"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maybe it is because he\u2019s lean, mean, and lets his weapon do the talking. Or maybe it is because TBS used to play all the Western movies on repeat. But whatever it is, I\u2019ve always thought of Chipper Jones as the Clint Eastwood of baseball. <\/p>\n

Clint Eastwood said goodbye to the West in the Oscar-winning \u201cUnforgiven\u201d. His skin is leathered over after years under the searing Western sun. His morals shot after decades of gunfights. The Man With No Name is just another weathered cowboy. \u201cI’m just a fella now,\u201d he reflects. \u201cI ain’t no different than anyone else no more.\u201d
\n
\nMajor league baseball is nearly as cruel. A breaking-down Chipper Jones is bidding a wistful farewell to the game. Chipper shredded his ACL fielding a groundball in Houston the wily veteran really had no business making. He watched helplessly from the dugout as the San Francisco Giants’ pitching jewels bedazzled the undermanned Braves bats and sent the only manager he’s ever known into retirement. “You’d like to think that if myself and [Martin] Prado were in the lineup, we might have accounted for a run in one of the three games that we lost,” Jones reflected. “That’s the way it rolls sometimes.” But Chipper doesn\u2019t want your pity. He doesn\u2019t want to be a distraction, and the last thing he wants is a farewell tour.<\/p>\n

The son of the South is an old 38 now. He was never a perfect man, but now the battle-scars are really showing. His mythical bat speed ain\u2019t what it used to be. His creaky hip aches chronically. His feet, leaden. Chipper doesn\u2019t crush home runs anymore. He takes his walks or sprays Texas leaguers just over the second baseman\u2019s head.<\/p>\n

But just when you think he\u2019s done. Just when you think Chipper\u2019s gone to the well one too many times, he laces a two-run gapper to left-field. Chipper trots into second, un-Velcroes his batting gloves, and cracks that crooked grin of his. And fathers across the South look over at their sons and say, there goes the greatest third basemen who ever lived. <\/p>\n

*****<\/strong><\/center><\/p>\n

This is the west, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.<\/em> — The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance<\/p>\n

Chipper Jones was always MY ATHLETE. His bat helped fuel the Atlanta Braves to an unprecedented 14 straight division titles, or Kindergarten through my Sophomore year of college. He\u2019s the one younger, chubbier me used to muddy my Nikes imitating in the backyard Georgia clay. The scowl. The gnashing bubble gum. The signature toe-tap. The swing of beauty<\/a>. (Warning: Results may vary.)<\/p>\n

Younger Chipper Jones copy-catted the 1970s Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019 swings in his Florida backyard.: Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, then he\u2019d switch to the other side of the plate for the left-handed hitters. And that\u2019s the other thing. Chipper Jones is a switch hitter. Third baseman Mike Schmidt hit more homeruns. George Brett had the higher batting average (and pine tar). But Chipper Jones is the best switch hitter in the history of the game after a fella named Mickey Mantle. <\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s true. Chicks dig the long ball:<\/p>\n

<\/param><\/param><\/param><\/embed><\/object><\/center><\/p>\n

But you\u2019d fall in love with Chipper Jones\u2019 game. He\u2019s never mashed Ruthian home run blasts. Instead, he is a rare blend of discipline and power. A career .300 batting average\/.400 OBP\/.500 slugging kind of guy. In translation, ladies, he has great eyes, power, and knows a thing or two about getting to first. The sexiest part about the back of his baseball card isn\u2019t the World Series title, the MVP trophy, or the string of .300, 30 home run, 100 RBI seasons. It\u2019s that he\u2019s spent his entire career with the Atlanta Braves.<\/p>\n

In the age of free agency and $300 million contracts, Chipper\u2019s loyalty is an anachronism. He could have bailed when the going got tough in Atlanta. But he just reworked his contract so the team could afford more payroll flexibility. Now, in the twilight of his sparkling Hall of Fame career, Chipper\u2019s ready to renegotiate his deal to give millions BACK to the Braves so the small-market team can have more cash in the war chest to win, even if it\u2019s without him. <\/p>\n

Maybe the greatest accolade of all is Chipper Jones is the anti-ARod. Alex Rodriguez couldn\u2019t win a ring with the hand he has dealt. So he jumped ship to the Rangers and took steroids for three years. He couldn\u2019t win there either so he switched teams and even his fielding position. He finally won his ring (albeit, in Derek Jeter\u2019s shadow), but he\u2019ll always be a juicer nomad who chased the money out of town. His records will always end with an Asterisk. <\/p>\n

In the age of steroids, perhaps the greatest compliment is Chipper aged the way stars are supposed to age. 38 year olds don\u2019t crush titanic blasts deep into the seats (see: Bonds, Barry). They don\u2019t whip crackling 96 MPH fastballs down the pike (Clemens, Roger). They lose a step. They fall asleep in the clubhouse during games (Griffey Jr., Ken).<\/p>\n

With the exception of Evander Holyfield, we can never tell champions of the game when to hang them up. For every Brett Favre career year at age 40, there are a dozen more cautionary tales. In the 1970s, Willie Mays looked pitiful stumbling around Shea\u2019s outfield. In the 2000s, Michael Jordan looked strange and human balling in a Wizards jersey. Nowadays, twenty-something nobodies are dusting Lance Armstrong in Texas road-races. Yet, we can\u2019t say anything. They earned the right to play as long as they wanted. And there\u2019s a certain ephemeral beauty in it. These all-time greats reigned over the game for so long finally get their comeuppances at the hands of Father Time. <\/p>\n

Chipper, on the other hand, is leaving on his own time. Sure, he could squeeze out 3-4 more seasons for an outside shot at 500 HRs, but he\u2019s got too much pride. His bust in Cooperstown is already measured. <\/p>\n

*****<\/strong><\/center><\/p>\n

Clint Eastwood is arguably an even better director than actor. Likewise, Jones may be an even craftier marketer. His real name is Larry, but he renamed himself Chipper because he figured a guy named Larry Jones could never be famous. Chipper named one of his sons Shea in honor of the favorite demolition derby\u2014the Mets\u2019 old stadium. Now this whole season when he should be ticking off his lasts\u2014last walk-off home run, Wrigley Field trip, and (hopefully) playoffs\u2014he\u2019s thinking about all the firsts he\u2019s missing with his four youngsters back home. <\/p>\n

And maybe, just maybe, one of them will grow into a Braves jersey and make Mets fans groan: not again.<\/p>\n

\n

See Also:<\/strong> Chipper Jones Retirement Rumors: Not going to address retirement until after the season<\/a>, Chipper Jones\u2019 retirement shouldn\u2019t be a punchline<\/a>, Chipper Jones and Kenshin Kawakami Lead Braves to 4-3 Win Over Tigers<\/a>, My 2010 All-Star Picks<\/a>, Braves quotes after being swept by ChiSox<\/a>, Braves could have a handful of All-Stars<\/a>, Dark Days, Bright Nights: An Atlanta Braves Preview<\/a>, Yard Work 6\/18: Ubaldo, Chipper, Rob Deer, and Dads<\/a>, and Atlanta Braves Infield: Life After Chipper Jones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[tags]chipper jones, atlanta braves, retirement, hall of fame, 2010, ode to chipper jones, stats, chipper jone[\/tags]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maybe it is because he\u2019s lean, mean, and lets his weapon do the talking. Or maybe it is because TBS used to play all the Western movies on repeat. But whatever it is, I\u2019ve always thought of Chipper Jones as the Clint Eastwood of baseball. Clint Eastwood said goodbye to the West in the Oscar-winning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":547,"featured_media":12485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[259],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nTo An Athlete Dying Old - Chipper Jones - Prose Before Hos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Maybe it is because he\u2019s lean, mean, and lets his weapon do the talking. Or maybe it is because TBS used to play all the Western movies on repeat. 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