Chipper Jones has been a fixture for so long at third base in Atlanta it is almost impossible to imagine the Braves without him. Unlike contemporaries Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez, Jones was a No. 1 overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft who actually spent his entire career with one organization.
Now that brilliant career may be over. Jones, who contemplated retirement while struggling earlier this season, found out Thursday he has a torn ACL in his left knee and is out for the rest of this season. Given the arduous nature of ACL rehab, it could be well into the 2011 season before Jones is ready to play again, making the retirement buzz grow louder.
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It’s a crushing blow to the Braves as they try to hold off the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East. At 38, Jones is far from the player he used to be. He bottomed out on May 26 with a .712 OPS. But Jones gradually rebounded and still has 10 homers and 21 doubles. His OPS is a respectable .806. He still walks (61) more than he strikes out (47). With waiver-wire trades getting blocked left and right, Atlanta likely can’t replace that production. The Braves entered Thursday night’s games with just a 2?-game lead over the Phillies. That’s not much of a margin for error.
But this injury also goes beyond one pennant race. Jones represents exactly what the Nats hope to get from No. 1 overall picks Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper — cornerstone players who stick with the organization for years. Jones broke into the Atlanta lineup for good in 1995 — coincidentally after missing his expected rookie season the year before with an ACL tear in that same left knee. And he loved to torture the Nats/Expos over the years. In 242 career games, Jones had 37 homers against the franchise with 148 RBI and a .301 batting average.
