Jones shines in Baseball Hall of Fame speech
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Chipper Jones didn’t bow to the pressure of the moment, and it was considerable.
Jones was inducted Sunday into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and he stood there delivering his speech with wife Taylor staring up at him, hours away from giving birth to a son to be named Cooper.
Faced with that daunting task, Jones delivered flawlessly, just as he did during his 19-year career with the Atlanta Braves.
“She changed my life forever,” Jones said as his wife brushed away tears. “It took me 40 years and some major imperfections in me along the way to find my true profession. Now we’ve taken our two families and blended them together. It has given me what I’ve been searching for my entire life — true happiness.”
A crowd estimated at about 50,000 gathered on a sunsplashed day to honour six former players. Also enshrined were Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman and former Detroit Tigers teammates
Jack Morris and Alan Trammell.
Jones controlled his emotions in a speech that took the crowd through his entire career, starting with his rookie season when he helped lead the Atlanta Braves to the 1995 World Series title. He was one of the greatest switch-hitters in baseball history, in the mould of his dad’s favourite player, Mickey Mantle, and finished with a .303 career batting average, 468 home runs, and 1,623 RBIs, credentials that earned him election on the first try.
Jones also heaped praise on his mom and dad. “You’re the reason I’m on this stage,” he said.
He ended his speech by thanking the loyal Atlanta fans.
“You stuck by me,” he said. “You’re the reason I never want to play anywhere else. I love you guys. Thank you.”
Emotional during a Hall of Fame visit in February to tour the museum to prepare for this day, Thome held it together despite having to wipe away tears after his daughter Lila sang the national anthem.
“I’m so honoured to be part of something so special,” Thome said. “Baseball is beautiful and I am forever in its service.”
The lefty-swinging Thome hit 612 home runs, eighth all-time, and had an MLB record 13 walkoff homers, mostly for the Cleveland Indians. He also had 1,699 RBIs, scored 1,583 runs and drew 1,747 walks.
Among the many he thanked, Thome praised former Cleveland manager Charlie Manuel, who served as the Indians’ hitting coach in the late 1980s and ‘90s. Manuel was in the audience.
“He told me I could hit as many home runs as I wanted to,” Thome said. “I knew this was someone I could connect with.”
Greeted by hundreds of fans waving Dominican Republic flags, Guerrero spoke in his native Spanish in a speech that was translated from Spanish and lasted just five minutes. He thanked his father and mother (who cooked dinners for him and does the same now for his son), and the fans and the people in his hometown of Don Gregorio. His son Vladimir Jr., the top prospect in the minor leagues with the Blue Jays, was in attendance.
The nine-time all-star outfielder batted .318 with 449 homers and 1,496 RBIs and is the first player inducted wearing the cap of the Angels.