Atlanta Braves Hire Chipper Jones as Hitting Consultant
The Atlanta Braves announced Monday that Chipper Jones will be joining their coaching staff. The Braves Twitter account was the first to report the news in an official press release.
#Braves Hire @RealCJ10 for Part-Time Role on Major League Coaching Staff: pic.twitter.com/JAeSo13Spe
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) February 1, 2021
With the addition of Jones, the Braves are adding someone with plenty of expertise about the game of baseball. The Hall-of-Famer was originally drafted by the organization during the first round of the 1990 MLB Draft. Furthermore, he spent a total of 19 seasons with the team and had plenty of accomplishments along the way.
During his first full season in the majors in 1995, Jones ended up finishing second overall in the National League Rookie of the Year Award voting to Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In addition, he finished in the Top 20 in National League Most Valuable Player Award voting on 11 different occasions. Of course, one of those consisted of a first-place finish in 1999 which was the same year that he won his first Silver Slugger Award.
The eight time, All-Star winner Jones played a pivotal role in the Atlanta Braves win over the Cleveland Indians in the 1995 World Series as well. In that series, Jones slashed .286/.385/.429 over 26 plate appearances.
Chipper Jones Influence on Braves Hitters
The biggest benefit of this hire will be the Atlanta Braves offensive players. Most notably the team’s All-Stars in Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna Jr. Both Albies and Acuna Jr. are integral pieces of the Braves roster moving forward. Furthermore, both still have yet to reach their peak seasons (Albies turned 24 last month and Acuna Jr. turned 23 last December). Therefore, both players have the potential to become even better over the next few years.
Beyond Albies and Acuna Jr., the rest of the team benefits as well. Given the amount of time Chipper Jones played in the majors, he has plenty of knowledge and expertise on the game of baseball. That alone should be extremely valuable for the Braves this coming season and beyond.
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Players Mentioned: Chipper Jones, Hideo Nomo, Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuna Jr.
