Chipper Jones/400 HRs

[Van_Slyke_CF]

Chipper Jones continues to close in on 400 career HRs. He hit #396 today. He just turned 36. I wish he could stay healthy and productive til 40 and join the 500 HR club, but it`s probably too much to ask. Anyway, he is one of my favorite players; tremendously talented and willing to play wherever the team has needed him on the field. Good luck, Chipper!

 

[Deadlift]

I would like to see him reach 2500 career hits.

That would be icing on the cake! He might come up short, though....


His Profile: http://sportsline.com/mlb/players/playerpage/7767

 

[LabMan]

Chipper Jones has been a pleasure to watch during his fine carrer,most folks don't realize how hard it is to hit well from both sides of the plate,field his positions well,and be a stand up guy in the clubhouse,he and Bobby Cox have shared a mutual respect for each other,and we,as fans have been very lucky to be a part of the experience.


Let's hope that when Jone's playing days are over many landmarks are named after him,ala,McCovey cove,Clemente bridge,Homestead Grays bridge,any bets?

 

[Solomon Kane]

Great player...a real symbol of one of the better teams over the past 20 years...I'm just sorry the Braves didn't win more championships. From a CF perspective they have been pretty good--upholding traditions of white excellence and sportsmanship. Cox, Jones, Glavine, Smoltz, Maddux.

 

[white is right]

At one time 400 hr's was a magical number, now because of roiding 500 is the new 400(call it athletic inflation). It's too bad that various roidheads have ruined the fan's appreciation of guys like Chipper reaching these historical milestones...

Edited by: white is right

 

[Don Wassall]

At one time 400 hr's was a magical number, now because of roiding 500 is the new 400(call it athletic inflation). It's too bad that various roidheads have ruined the fan's appreciation of guys like Chipper reaching these historical milestones...

Very true. While former milestones for sluggers have become commonplace,traditional milestones for pitchers are now rarely reached with the notable exception of strikeouts. Over 350 wins for Clemens, 349 for Maddux, 300 for Glavine, and Randy Johnson still with a shot at 300 despite his late start, all phenomenal achievements in the era of the five-man rotation, and all underappreciated by the media and fans. Now, if their pigmentation was of the favored hue, receiving their due would hardly be the problem; it would be one of overkill. Could you imagine the acclaim if the "electric" Dontrelle Willis or the charmingly obese C. C. Sabathia managed to reach 300 wins?

 

[GiovaniMarcon]

The press is as anxious to destroy Clemens as they are to exonerate Bonds as they are to crush Conseco (who was "hispanic" until he got into trouble, so now he's white) as they are to excuse Gary Sheffield's racism as the are to crucify John Rocker's racism as they are to look at Mark
MacGwire askance as they are to look at Samy Sosa with the benefit of the doubt.



Chipper Jones' achievement will likely be overlooked unless he does something newsworthy -- which for white athletes, means getting caught doing something illegal, because he isn't going to get into the papers with quiet, productive dignity, which used to be valued in an America where it wasn't okay to spit on soldiers.

 

[Freedom]

Forget about 400 HRs. How about hitting .400! If he did that in this 2008 season it would completely change the face of baseball and give young ballplayers all over the country new life. He could even win the triple crown.

 

[Don Wassall]

Unlike some of the old pitching marks, .400 shouldn't be unreachable. George Brett and Tony Gwynn both came close in the last 30 years.


The biggest reason .400 is now regarded as all but impossible to hit is the disappearance of the fundamental of trying to make contact each at bat. Do any batters ever choke up now when there's two strikes? Baseball too much is wail away, always trying to hit a home run. It's become equivalent to the slam dunk in basketball, the play that Sports Center loves to show.


Just about all hitters from the past struck out much less frequently than those of today. Joe DiMaggio struck out but 369 times in his career. Fathom that; Ryan Howard may have that many this season alone. Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[Bart]

Just about all hitters from the past struck out much less frequently than those of today. Joe DiMaggio struck out but 369 times in his career. Fathom that; Ryan Howard may have that many this season alone.

As of today, Ryan Howard has registered 52 K'sin 140 AB's.Joltin Joe struck out only 13 times during the entire 1941 seasonin 549 at bats. Wow!All the more impressive considering he wasn't a contact hitter pounding out singles, hefinished the season with a .643 slugging percentage.

 

[jaxvid]

Just about all hitters from the past struck out much less frequently than those of today.  Joe DiMaggio struck out but 369 times in his career.  Fathom that; Ryan Howard may have that many this season alone. 

As of today, Ryan Howard has registered 52 K's in 140 AB's.  Joltin Joe struck out only 13 times during the entire 1941 season in 549 at bats.  Wow!  All the more impressive considering he wasn't a contact hitter pounding out singles, he finished the season with a .643 slugging percentage. 

Yes but Joltin' Joe didn't have to face all of those "ace" black pitchers that Ryan Howard has to!

 

[Freedom]

I wonder if the percentage of hitters taking on 2-0 has gone up over the years. What about on 2-1? I see a lot of hitters take perfect pitches on 2-0 and 2-1, especially if they are fastballs. It is as if every hitter is waiting for a hanging breaking ball. Only a few hitters are exceptions.

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

Chipper is at 398 HRs as of today.

The bigger news is that he is hitting .412. Pretty darn good 47 games into the season.

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

#400!

He`s also hitting .418 61 games into the season.

Keep it up, Chipper!

 

[Don Wassall]

Chipper Joneshit home run 431 yesterday, tying him for 38th all time with Cal Ripken. Chipper Jones, Cal Ripken, two all time great players and all timeclass acts.

It was only Chipper's 5th homer of the season and he's made it pretty clear this is his last season, so appreciate this surefire Hall of Famer while you still can.

I remember one of his coaches or managers saying years ago that when he looked at Jones' face he could just tell he was a real gamer, and I agree;Chipper Jones looks like an archetypal American baseball player. You caneasily envisionhim playing in 1890 or 1920 or 1950; sadly though American archetypes have become rarer and rarer in the last 40 years, in baseball and even more so in pro football.Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[JReb1]

Jones may be "on the bubble" for the HOF because his numbers don't jump out at you, they're just consistently really good-great. It should be taken into consideration by the writers that Jones accomplished his incredible stats during the "steroid" era when Jones clearly never juiced. If Jones juiced he would have hit 50-70 HR's a year in his prime and challenge not only the single season HR record but Aaron's HR record because if Jones used roids he'd have stayed healthier and hit another 150-300 HR's IMHO.

 

[Don Wassall]

I'll be very surprised if Jones doesn't get in the first year he's eligible. To go with his 431 home runs he has a lifetime batting average over .300, and nearly 1,500 runs scored and nearly 1,500 RBIs. He's had 9 seasons with over 100 RBIs and 8 seasons with over 100 runs scored.

He was also the heart and soul, along with the great starting pitchers, of a team that won a mind-boggling 14 straight division titles. That's just amazing, even with five team divisions, a feat of consistent excellenceand endurance withoutpeer in pro sports. It's a real shame that the Braves only won one World Series title during that span, making them in that sense baseball's equivalent of the Buffalo Bills of the early '90s, but even in Caste System America I can't see Jones not being enshrined in Cooperstownthe first yearhe's on the HOF ballot.

 

[JReb1]

Jones no doubt should be a 1st ballot HOF selection but him not having 3000 hits or 500 HR's may prevent the voters from voting him in and they will probably compare Jones to Fred McGriff who hasn't got voted in yet (if ever) but I hope I'm wrong.

 

[DixieDestroyer]

JR1, I agree Chipper should be in Cooperstown...as should former Braves great Dale Murphy!

 

[Don Wassall]

Jones just notched his 2,500th hit and 1,500th RBI. Eddie Murray is the only other switch-hitter to reach those figures.