Chipper Jones Voted In To Baseball Hall Of Fame

ATLANTA, GA — Chipper Jones, the switch-hitting slugger with a Southern drawl who manned third base for nearly two decades as the Atlanta Braves enjoyed the best run in their history, is on his way to the Hall of Fame. Jones — who spent his entire career as a Brave and retired in 2012 with a .303 batting average, 468 home runs and 1,623 runs batted in — was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday in the first year he was eligible.

Jones was the class' first inductee announced by Jeff Idelson, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He was this year's top vote-getter with 97.2 percent of the votes cast, tying him for the 10th-highest vote total ever. At least 75 percent is required to be inducted into the Hall.

Also named to the Hall of Fame Wednesday were Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome and Trevor Hoffman.

In an interview with the MLB Network, Jones said he was "an absolute wreck" when he received the phone call telling him he'd been elected.

"I can't describe it," he said. "It's one of those spine-tingling, chill-bump moments that you just can't describe. It was waterworks after I got off that phone call. The only thing I could say to my dad when I hugged him was, 'We did it.'"

After being the first overall pick in the 1990 Major League draft, Jones went on to become an 8-time All Star, win the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1999 and earn the Major League batting title in 2008 with a .364 average.

A native of DeLand, Fla., he debuted with Atlanta in 1993 as the youngest player in the Major Leagues and was a member of the 1995 Braves team that won the World Series, defeating the Cleveland Indians.

With his down-home style — he was a well-known hunting and fishing enthusiast who bragged about being from a hometown with a single grocery store called Meat World — Jones was always a fan favorite. First at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, then at Turner Field, the loudest cheers would come when Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" would blare through the PA system and Jones would head to the plate.

His No. 10 was retired by the Braves in 2013, the same year he was inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame. It was retired later that year by the minor-league Durham Bulls, where Jones played in 1991.

Most everyone who knows one whit about baseball had considered Jones a lock to make it into the Hall on his first ballot. Hours before the vote was announced on Tuesday, sports experts already were sending him premature congratulations.

Chipper Jones stats:

• Career Hits: 2,726
• Career Home Runs: 468
• Career Batting Average: .303
• Career RBIs: 1,623
• All-Star Appearances: 8

"After today, Chipper Jones' signature will have 'HOF' after it. Congrats in advance, @RealCJ10," Atlanta Journal-Constitution baseball writer Dave O'Brien wrote Wednesday morning on Twitter. "Another #Braves icon headed to Cooperstown, and the best player I've covered in 23 years as a baseball beat writer. A dude who exuded confidence and backed it up. Country swag."

Another AJC writer who covered Jones for years, Jeff Schultz, wrote Wednesday about Jones' "willingness to remain honest and unscripted with his public comments at a time when an increasing number of sports stars and celebrities gave only sanitized remarks, meant to comfort their bosses, fans and sponsors."

He cited a time, in 2011, when he asked Jones about critics saying he only wanted to play another year to make more money. Jones responded, "I still feel like I have something to offer, and the cynical fan can really kiss my [expletive]. I really don't care."

Born Larry Wayne Jones, Jr., Jones received the nickname "Chipper" as a child from his school-teacher father and other family members who saw him as a "chip off the old block."

Last year, on The Player's Tribune, Jones penned a letter to his younger self in which he looked back on a stellar career as well as what he called some less-stellar off-the-field decisions. He writes of being divorced twice, of making foolish money decisions as a young Major Leaguer and getting "sucked into the lifestyle of a big-time athlete."

"The one bad thing about this letter is that I can’t use it to reach back and slap you upside the head to knock some sense into you," Jones, now 45, wrote. "I can’t actually stop you from getting married at 20.

You’re going to do what you want. But you should know that, for the most part, your life going forward is going to be like two sides of a coin. There’s going to be baseball … and then there’s gonna be everything else."

In the letter, he also addresses being a top Major Leaguer for much of what many call the Steroid Era in professional baseball. He writes of being "really open" to the idea of using steroids in 1996 before talking with his wife about it.

"When you raise the topic with her, and tell her what you’re considering, she’s going to ask you this: 'Would you be able to look your parents in the eye if you earned a bunch of accolades and honors while taking steroids? Would you be O.K. with that?' It’s going to be all you’ll need to hear. You'll never touch the stuff."

Jones will be inducted, with the rest of this year's Hall of Fame class, during a ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y. in July.

PHOTO 1: Chipper Jones #10 of the Atlanta Braves hits a three-run walk-off home run against the Philadelphia Phillies at Turner Field on September 2 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

PHOTO 2: A young fan in the stands holds up a sign for Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves during a game between the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals at Turner Field on September 15, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)

PHOTO 3: Chris Denorfia of the San Diego Padres slides into third base ahead of the tag of Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves during the eighth inning of a baseball game at Petco Park on August 29, 2012 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)

PHOTO 4: Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves takes a swing against the Philadelphia Phillies during a MLB baseball game on September 22, 2012 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)