Chipper Jones Is Great, But Is He Overrated?
Chipper Jones has been the face of the Atlanta Braves franchise for nearly 20 years. He was drafted 1 overall in 1990, right before the Braves started on their run of 14 consecutive playoff appearances. As a third baseman and left fielder, he has been the cornerstone of the team, sticking with them after the great pitchers and future Hall of Fame manager retired.
He won the National League MVP award in 1999 and is a six-time All Star. With over 2,500 hits and over 400 home runs, ranking him ahead of Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle and Joe Morgan in hits and ahead of Hall of Famers Duke Snider and Al Kaline in home runs.Didn’t catch that? This explains it. How can you call a guy like this “overrated?”
At 39 years old, Chipper Jones’s best playing days are behind him. His slugging percentage has been dropping each year for the last four seasons. He will probably not be in any MVP or All Star discussions in the future. But when you look back at the whole career and body of work of Chipper Jones, he will clearly get some Hall of Fame consideration, have his number retired by the Braves, and is anything but overrated.