Third Baseman, Atlanta
Braves
Age: 27 (April 24)
5th season
with Braves
Bats – Both,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’4” Weight: 210
Prior to 1999:
A Florida
native, Larry Wayne Jones, Jr. picked up the nickname “Chipper” in his youth.
Coached in hitting by his baseball coach father, the switch-hitting Jones excelled
in Little League play and was sent to the private Bolles School in Jacksonville
for high school. Heavily scouted he was selected first overall in the 1990
amateur draft by the Braves and signed for a $275,000 signing bonus. Hampered
initially by a hand injury, Jones hit only .229 in his first minor league stop
in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League in ’90. Advised by minor league hitting
instructor Willie Stargell to switch to a heavier bat, his batting improved in
1991 with Macon of the Class A South Atlantic League where he hit .326 with 24
doubles, 11 triples, 15 home runs, and 98 RBIs in 136 games. But he had
difficulty with his fielding at shortstop where he committed 71 errors. on the
basis of his hitting he was still named a league All-Star. He went from high
Class A to Greenville of the AA Southern League in 1992 where he batted .346 in
67 games with 17 doubles, 11 triples, 9 home runs, and 42 RBIs while stealing
14 bases, and was once again a league All-Star. In 1993 with Richmond of the
Class AAA International League he was an All-Star once more who hit .325 with
31 doubles, 12 triples, 13 home runs, and 89 RBIs and received a September call-up
to the Braves. He was used sparingly but was slated to start in left field for
Atlanta in 1994 until he was sidelined for the year after suffering a major
left knee injury in spring training. Taking over for the departed Terry
Pendleton at third base in 1995, Jones had a fine rookie year, batting .265
with 23 home runs and 86 RBIs. He placed second in NL Rookie of the Year
voting. He performed well in the postseason for the division-winning Braves,
who went on to win the World Series. Signed to a four-year contract extension
for $8.25 million, Jones hit .309 in 1996 with 30 home runs and 110 RBIs and
was an All-Star for the first time. Jones remained a solid performer on the
field in 1997 as he hit .295 with a drop in home runs to 21 and a rise in
doubles to 41, to go along with 111 RBIs. With the rivalry with the NL East
rival Mets heating up in 1998, Jones became a target of Met fans at New York’s
Shea Stadium, where he tended to play especially well. For the year he hit .313
with 34 home runs and 107 RBIs. Problems in his personal life came to the
surface, but by 1999 Jones was well-established as a star who had been selected
to three straight All-Star Games and was coming off of three consecutive 100-RBI
seasons.
1999 Season Summary
Appeared in 157
games
3B – 156, SS –
1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 701 [7]
At Bats – 567
Runs – 116 [7]
Hits – 181 [13]
Doubles – 41 [7,
tied with Edgardo Alfonzo & Kevin Young]
Triples – 1
Home Runs – 45 [3,
tied with Greg Vaughn]
RBI – 110 [17]
Bases on Balls
– 126 [3]
Int. BB – 18 [2]
Strikeouts – 94
Stolen Bases – 25
Caught Stealing
– 3
Average - .319
[10]
OBP - .441 [4]
Slugging Pct. -
.633 [4]
Total Bases – 359
[4]
GDP – 20 [3,
tied with Derek Bell]
Hit by Pitches
– 2
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 6
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 21, RBI - 57, AVG - .313, SLG– .589, OBP – .422
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 4 AB) vs. Milwaukee 7/28
Longest hitting
streak – 10 games
HR at home – 25
HR on road – 20
Most home runs,
game – 2 on six occasions
Multi-HR games
– 6
Most RBIs, game
– 4 at LA Dodgers 4/21 – 12 innings, at NY Mets 7/2
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 343
Put Outs – 88
Assists – 238
Errors – 17
DP – 10
Pct. - .950
Postseason
Batting: 14 G (NLDS vs. Houston – 4 G; NLCS vs. NY Mets – 6 G; World Series vs.
NY Yankees – 4 G)
PA – 65, AB – 45,
R – 7, H – 11, 2B – 2,3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 4, BB – 18, IBB – 6, SO – 11, SB – 3,
CS – 1, AVG - .244, OBP - .462, SLG - .356, TB – 16, GDP – 1, HBP – 1, SH – 0, SF
– 1
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
Silver Slugger
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Chipper Jones,
Atl.: 432 pts. - 29 of 32 first place votes, 96% share
Jeff Bagwell,
Hou.: 276 pts. – 1 first place vote, 62% share
Matt Williams,
Ari.: 269 pts. – 2 first place votes, 60% share
Greg Vaughn,
Cin.: 121 pts. – 27% share
Mark McGwire,
StL.: 115 pts. – 26% share
---
Braves went 103-59
to finish first in the NL Eastern Division by 6.5 games over the New York Mets,
for their eighth consecutive division title. The Braves swept a three-game September
home series against the Mets to boost their lead to four games and then swept
Montreal to clinch the division crown. Won NLDS over the Houston Astros, 3
games to 1. Won NLCS over the New York Mets, 4 games to 2. Lost World Series to
the /New York Yankees, 4 games to 0.
Aftermath of ‘99:
Following his
MVP season, Jones agreed to a six-year, $90 million contract extension. He
batted .311 in 2000 with 36 home runs and 111 RBIs as the Braves remained atop
the NL East. He continued to be solid in 2001 as he hit .330 with 38 home runs
and 102 RBIs. In 2002 Jones shifted to left field and batted .327 with 26 home
runs and 100 RBIs and in 2003 hit .305 with 27 home runs and 106 RBIs. With the
Braves off to a slow start in 2004 and Jones not hitting well while plagued by
injuries, he was moved back to third base with favorable results. He finished
at .248 with 30 home runs and 96 RBIs as Atlanta cruised to another division
title. Jones missed 30 games in 2005 due to a torn ligament in his left foot
and ended up batting .296 with 21 home runs and 72 RBIs. The Braves missed the
postseason for the first time in Jones’ career in 2006 but while still dealing
with nagging injuries he batted .324 (helped by a 20-game hitting streak) with
26 home runs and 86 RBIs. He followed up with a 2007 season in which he hit .337
with 29 home runs and 102 RBIs. A fast start in 2008 led to Jones winning the
NL batting title with a .364 average despite suffering a shoulder injury that
limited him to pinch-hitting during the season’s last two weeks, along with 22
home runs and 75 RBIs. He dropped to .264 with 18 home runs in 2009 and a major
knee injury cut short his 2010 season. Jones played two more seasons, choosing
to retire at age 40 in 2012. For his major league career, spent entirely with
the Braves, he batted .303 with 2726 hits that included 549 doubles, 38
triples, and 468 home runs. He further scored 1619 runs and compiled 1623 RBIs
and 150 stolen bases. Typically a fine hitter in the postseason, he appeared in
93 postseason games and batted .287 with 13 home runs and 47 RBIs. An
eight-time All-Star, the Braves retired his #10 and he was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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