Chipper Jones may retire after 2010

[backwardsk]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Ak5H2TyzeMWns2JYFkWnJygRvLYF?slug=ap-braves-chipperjones&prov=ap&type=lgns

HOFer? 425+ HR, around 2500 hits, .300+ average, OPS around .950.

[Moose Milligan]

Total HoFer in my book. You forgot to add MVP, too.

Off the top of my head he's gotta be one of the top 5 switch hitters ever, behind Mantle and Murray and maybe Rose. I know there's another name or two that escapes me but I'm too lazy to look it up.

He's also got a WS ring and a batting title as well.

400 homers doesn't mean what it used to 20-25 years ago but I don't think anyone ever suspected Larry Wayne to be on the juice.

From the invent a stat category department:

No other switch-hitter has a career average of .300 or better and at least 300 homers.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2010/news/story?id=4952360

[sakata_catching]

Absolutely. First-ballot lock.

[RShack]

Total HoFer in my book. You forgot to add MVP, too.

Absolutely. First-ballot lock.

On the other hand, when he stood in there as a LH batter, he looked a whole lot like Larry Bigbie.

What happened to the baseball was a lot different, but his stance looked exactly the same...

[Mad Mark]

Whether or not he's a future Hall of Famer, Jones certainly has a HoF attitude: "if my play isn't up to my standards, I'm outta here." Good to see.

[byrdz]

Absolutely, no question, skip the vote.

[berto]

I just don't see how he doesn't deserve to be a first-ballot hall HOFer.

[Don Quixote]

He hasn't always been the first name heard every night, but his consistency will probably carry him through in fairly short order. I'm not sure about first ballot, though, as sometimes that's a bit hard to predict. We'll have a better idea a few years down the line.

[Lucky Jim]

Just a dynamite hitter. Dynamite.

[Sports Guy]

Obvious HOFer....Bigger question is where does he rank all time for third baseman?

[waroriole]

First ballot, no question. Top 5 3B ever?

[Skeletor]

He still had an OPS+ of 118 last year in his age 37 season. Larry is hard to please.

[mweb]

Obvious HOFer....Bigger question is where does he rank all time for third baseman?

According to this site, he ranks 5th behind Schmidt, Matthews, Boggs, and Brett. That is exluding some guys who played a good deal at third, but played somewhere else more, and is just considering career value. 39th all time among position playes. Brooks is 57th.

[TGO]

According to this site, he ranks 5th behind Schmidt, Matthews, Boggs, and Brett. That is exluding some guys who played a good deal at third, but played somewhere else more, and is just considering career value. 39th all time among position playes. Brooks is 57th.

Makes sense to me. I think the order of 3-5 could be argued but Jones is certainly in there. Those three aren't that far apart.

[RShack]

Brooks is 57th.

That's absurd.