If Chipper played in NYC or Boston

[terrierbob]

A good story on Chipper from the Atlanta Journal

Is Kelly Johnson right?



"Chipper Jones, meanwhile, is off to such a torrid start that we’re all left to wonder just what he might be capable of if he plays 145-150 games. It’s not a stretch to say that, when healthy, he’s been the majors’ best all-around hitter for the past couple of years.

“He killed us,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said Sunday, after Hoss went 3-for-6 with a homer and five RBI in the series finale and 7-for-13 in the series. “He’s always been a great hitter. Now, he looks like the best hitter on earth. That’s a sweet stroke he’s got going.”

Kelly Johnson told me that if Jones played in Boston or New York, he’d be on the cover of every national magazine, the toast of the town, compared to the greats to play the game, etc. I didn’t disagree.

The man is hitting .425 more than a month into the season, a mere 59-point lead over the next-highest average in the majors, Rafael Furcal’s .366 (Utley is at .362).

Jones leads the Braves with nine homers and 27 RBIs, not to mention his .472 OBP and .717 slugging percentage. He’s hitting .400 against lefties, and .438 with an absurd .849 slugging percentage against righties.

He’s hitting .467 (28-for-60) with a 1.231 OPS at home in a park that’s considered to be favorable for pitchers.

He is hitting .500 (28-for-56) with runners on base, and .385 with a .500 OBP with runners in scoring position.

He is on fire.

In 18 games since April 12, Chipper is 32-for-70 (.457) with eight homers, 18 RBI, 10 walks and a 1.390 OPS. He’s struck out just five times in that span.

[brownbear]

Very true, Chipper is having a great season so far:

.425 batting average - 1st in the NL

10 HRs - 2nd in the NL

27 RBIs - 4th in the NL

[blueballs]

The Braves telecast last night showed a graphic where Jones had the highest average in MLB dating back to May 2006 and was (I think) third overall in OPS. Also, he made half the errors David Wright made last year and was jobbed out of both the Golden Glove and Silver Slugger. I would also bet 10-1 that Wright gets voted all star starter instead of Jones.

I would tend to agree with Johnson but you can add Boston to that New York comment too.

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

I'd gladly relinquish Red Sox games on ESPN and Fox to the Braves as I'm guessing my Yankee brothers would too. The fan bases don't ask for all that fricken attention! I'd rather watch the game with the Red Sox announcers. All their games are already on TV!!

And I wouldn't miss Sunday afternoon games being switched to Sunday night for national TV despite both teams having to travel after the game. That's what happened earlier this season when the Red Sox and Yankees played. To start with, it is friggin' insane to have an 8 PM start time for a baseball game in April in Boston! Then the game was longer than normal and IIRC both teams arrived at their next destination at 5 or 6 AM (at the earliest). Of course they had games later that same day.

[NE MT GRIZZ]

Chipper would probably average 10-15 more HR's per year in Boston or New York with the short porches down both lines.

[FCS Preview]

It's still early...if he's still on this pace near the ASG, things will heat up quickly. Just like they did for McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, and going back a generation, Brett...

[bluehenbillk]

So it's a 2-horse race between Chipper & Chase Utley (.351, 13HR, 26RBI) for the league MVP.

Utley was NL player of the month for April.

[tribe_pride]

The Braves telecast last night showed a graphic where Jones had the highest average in MLB dating back to May 2006 and was (I think) third overall in OPS. Also, he made half the errors David Wright made last year and was jobbed out of both the Golden Glove and Silver Slugger. I would also bet 10-1 that Wright gets voted all star starter instead of Jones.

I would tend to agree with Johnson but you can add Boston to that New York comment too.

Larry is a great player but he missed almost 1/4 of the season last year. Tough to give those awards to players that missed that many games unless you are a pitcher. Rodriguez (catcher) caught close to that few games but catchers are different too.

[gmoney55]

So it's a 2-horse race between Chipper & Chase Utley (.351, 13HR, 26RBI) for the league MVP.

Utley was NL player of the month for April.

Yea Utley is unreal. With possibly three MVPs in the lineup it's hard to imagine the Phils not winning 100 games. Anything less than an NLCS would be a MAJOR disappointment.

[bluehenbillk]

Yea Utley is unreal. With possibly three MVPs in the lineup it's hard to imagine the Phils not winning 100 games. Anything less than an NLCS would be a MAJOR disappointment.

True, but the 1st of those league MVP's has been the biggest disappointment in the NL so far this year, still waiting for him to crack the Mendoza Line.

[ngineer]

....he'd be called "Larry, Larry, Larry"..xlolx I love it when the Mets fans serenade him with that at Shea. I do agree he'd get alot more attention--just like other excellent players who don't play in the 'marquee markets'.

[chantster]

Not likely in Boston.

Chipper would have to beat out John Drew for the only position he could possibly start. :p

[I Bleed Purple]

Braves sure know when to unload a guy. Galarraga, McGriff, Murphy, Jordan. If you're not being resigned or being released by the Braves and you're a cleanup hitter. You know your career is over.

[Reed Rothchild]

If Chipper wasn't hurt all the time and the Brraves won more than 1 world series during their heyday, he'd have much more fanfare.

[Peems]

....he'd be called "Larry, Larry, Larry"..xlolx I love it when the Mets fans serenade him with that at Shea. I do agree he'd get alot more attention--just like other excellent players who don't play in the 'marquee markets'.

Is there a player the mets hate more?

[appfan2008]

chipper should be and will be a hall of famer and it sure would be something if he could hit 400 this year... he is at 429 after going 2 for 4 last night...

[tribe_pride]

Too early to start the .400 for the year talk.

[Baldy]

Larry is a great player but he missed almost 1/4 of the season last year. Tough to give those awards to players that missed that many games unless you are a pitcher. Rodriguez (catcher) caught close to that few games but catchers are different too.
Chipper played in 134 games, so he played in over 80% of the games, but when you consider he had almost the same stats as Wright...29 HR to 30 HR, 102 RBI to 107 plus Chipper batted 12 points higher plus Chipper had less than half of the errors in only 24 less games, yeah Chipper probably got jobbed.

[JoltinJoe]

Is there a player the mets hate more?

Roger Clemens. xnodx

[stevdock]

David Wright, while being a good player, is way overrated in my book. He will be solid, but I don't see him being much better than Scott Rolen over his career. Maybe a little better, if he stays healthier. Just imagine where Chipper would be, not only if he played in NYC or Boston, but would also be mostly healthy during his career.

[Ivytalk]

....he'd get more tail than he gets in Hotlanta!xnodx

And Chipper knows from tail.xcoolx

[terrierbob]

....he'd get more tail than he gets in Hotlanta!xnodx

And Chipper knows from tail.xcoolx

My wife has a friend who for some reason was at a party Chipper sorta crashed several years ago.. He was three sheets in the wind and seemed to be trailing a retinue of Chipperettes.

[terrierbob]

Today he was only 1 for 5. He was 11 for 24 over the homestand, however.

[bulldog10jw]

Is there a player the mets hate more?


Roger Clemens. xnodx

Dwight Gooden for wasting HOF talent

Darryl Strawberry for being a waste (and thinking he was a HOF talent)

Dwight Gooden and David Cone for pitching no-hitters for the Bronx Bums

[Eyes of Old Main]

My wife has a friend who for some reason was at a party Chipper sorta crashed several years ago.. He was three sheets in the wind and seemed to be trailing a retinue of Chipperettes.

It must have been entertaining to watch a professional play the field.

[Cleets]

Chipper would probably average 10-15 more HR's per year in Boston or New York with the short porches down both lines.

Urban Legend: Home runs are easy to hit in Boston...
Fact:Fewer home runs are hit in Boston's fenway than almost any park in baseball...

xeyebrowx

[NE MT GRIZZ]

Urban Legend: Home runs are easy to hit in Boston...
Fact:Fewer home runs are hit in Boston's fenway than almost any park in baseball...

xeyebrowx

I didn't know that.

Is that historically Cleets, or just in recent years with the incredible pitching staff?

[gmoney55]

Roger Clemens. xnodx

Yea but everybody hates Clemens.

[Cleets]

I didn't know that.

Is that historically Cleets, or just in recent years with the incredible pitching staff?

It's been that way for decades... since they started calculating HRPF

Park LF LCF CF RCF RF Overall Avg. Temp
Coors Field 131 121 90 145 118 118 72.5
Great American Ball Park 117 114 79 132 133 111 75.0
U.S. Cellular Field 119 114 71 118 124 106 69.7
Tropicana Field 126 116 56 119 126 106 72.0
Metrodome 113 110 70 130 127 106 70.0
Miller Park 100 116 70 131 137 105 74.3
Citizens Bank Park 118 116 66 119 122 105 75.5
Yankee Stadium 115 100 72 128 134 105 71.9
Minute Maid Park 132 116 37 114 135 105 78.6
Jacobs Field 108 109 76 117 129 104 69.7
Camden Yards 107 121 75 110 109 102 79.5
Rangers Ballpark 101 99 77 119 120 99 83.3
Rogers Centre 120 96 64 96 120 97 73.2
Dolphins Stadium 119 106 59 101 107 97 83.3
Turner Field 108 104 78 91 114 97 78.5
Angels Stadium 103 94 81 114 104 96 73.3
Busch Stadium III 103 100 75 102 106 94 77.5
Shea Stadium 101 112 56 112 101 94 72.1
Safeco Field 94 89 64 115 131 93 67.1
PNC Park 102 86 76 105 114 93 72.8
Chase Field 108 93 45 115 112 91 80.1
PETCO Park 107 97 72 79 107 91 69.3
Comerica Park 106 98 35 104 127 91 70.6
Dodger Stadium 95 100 73 100 95 90 71.7
Fenway Park 105 106 57 94 88 89 69.4
McAfee Coliseum 98 97 66 96 98 89 65.2
Wrigley Field 86 122 61 98 86 89 70.0
Kauffman Stadium 101 91 60 91 101 87 77.7
AT&T Park 98 100 56 59 106 83 64.3
RFK Stadium 102 79 51 79 102 81 77.2
Average 108 104 66 108 114 97 73.5



http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/home-run-park-factor-a-new-approach/

[tribe_pride]

Chipper would probably average 10-15 more HR's per year in Boston or New York with the short porches down both lines.

I am assuming you mean Yankee Stadium as opposed to Shea. May be wrong but Shea is not a hitter's park 10-15 HR's is pretty extreme too. He'd be in worse shape for home runs if he was on any of the recent DC teams.


Chipper played in 134 games, so he played in over 80% of the games, but when you consider he had almost the same stats as Wright...29 HR to 30 HR, 102 RBI to 107 plus Chipper batted 12 points higher plus Chipper had less than half of the errors in only 24 less games, yeah Chipper probably got jobbed.

My bad. I thought I had read 124 before. Big difference.

[I Bleed Purple]

Wasn't that homer Chipper hit yesterday on ESPN just a perfect way to hit?

[gmoney55]

Wasn't that homer Chipper hit yesterday on ESPN just a perfect way to hit?

The guy is unreal. He has a better shot at .400 than anyone I can remember in a while. Hits in a loaded lineup, and he'll probably miss just enough games due to injury (say, 15-20) to qualify for the batting title and keep from getting as many at bats as others.

[Go...gate]

Larry is a great player but he missed almost 1/4 of the season last year. Tough to give those awards to players that missed that many games unless you are a pitcher. Rodriguez (catcher) caught close to that few games but catchers are different too.

Not always. AIR, Mickey Mantle was MVP in 1962 and missed nearly 1/4 of the season.

In any event, IMO, Chipper one of the most underrated and unappreciated great players in the past half-century.