Chipper joins Braves great Eddie Mathews in Hall of Fame
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - Sunday evening as the sun begins to set over lake Otsego, a plaque bearing Chipper Jones' image will be lifted up for placement on the oaken walls of the first floor gallery at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Chipper is set to join 322 other players with reserved plaque parking, but he won't be the first Braves third baseman to hang there.
Eddie Mathews made the move to Atlanta from Milwaukee when the franchise was relocated in 1966. By that time he already had Hall of Fame numbers. The 12-time All-Star won two National League home run titles and hit 30 or more homers in nine consecutive seasons-his 47 in 1953 established a single-season record for third baseman that would last almost 30 years.
Mathews' batting average of .271 is far below Jones' .303 career mark, but Mathews hit 512 career home runs- 44 more than Jones. The two are fairly even in hits and RBI, with Jones edging Mathews in both categories, but after polling three Hall of Fame players in Cooperstown on Friday, it's Jones' defensive prowess that might give him the edge when comparing the two baseball greats.
"One was nuts," 1991 inductee, Rod Carew said of the often aloof Mathews. "Eddie Mathews was one tough cookie. And Chipper could do it all. Field- he made some great plays and he could hit."
13-time Gold Glove winner Ozzie Smith, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002 told us that Jones' determination to improve his fielding is one of the reasons he was a first ballot choice.
"He worked extremely hard at making himself a better player, and I think that's really the goal of all of us that have had the opportunity- or have the luxury now- of making the Hall of Fame." Smith continued. "Our goal was to be as well rounded as we could possibly be and stay away from being labeled a one-dimensional player."
Make no mistake, Mathews was no slouch at the hot corner. In 17 seasons at third base he had a .956 fielding percentage, slightly better than Jones- who logged 16 seasons at third. Mathews amassed 293 errors to Jones' 223.
Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench saw Mathews play early in his career with the Reds, and later watched Jones as he won the 1999 National League MVP and developed into on of baseball's most feared hitters. Bench wouldn't choose between them, but he acknowledged comparing the two players is inevitable.
"You have to compare them." said the 1976 World Series MVP. "He's (Jones) in the Hall of Fame, so we're all equal now."
Eddie Mathews was once quoted as saying, “The one thing I’m proudest of is that every day I played, I gave the best I had.”
Let there be no debate, the same can be said about, and has been said by Chipper Jones. Maybe they're not so different after all.