Jones in awe of joining sport’s greats

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Chipper Jones quickly developed a case of goose bumps that lingered.

The former Braves slugger toured the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday to prepare for his induction this summer, and he was awestruck by a moment he’ll never forget.

“You can feel the aura and the ghosts,” Jones said, sitting a few feet from where his Hall of Fame plaque will hang. “When I sat down on the bench in front of (a photo of ) Babe Ruth and all those guys, I got misty.”

Jones became a first-ballot Hall of Famer in January, receiving 97.2 percent (410 of 422) of the vote to become one of just 54 players elected in their first year of eligibility by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

He’ll be inducted July 29 with Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, Alan Trammell and Jack Morris. Trammell and Morris, former teammates on the Tigers, were elected in December by a veterans committee.

Jones, who batted .303 with 468 home runs and 1,623 RBIs, was an eight-time All-Star for the Braves. He is the 13th switch hitter among everyday players to enter the Hall and the eighth third baseman voted in by the writers.

He was a big part of Braves teams that won 14 straight division titles. He joins former teammates Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz, manager Bobby Cox, and general manager John Schuerholz, all of whom were elected to the Hall of Fame in the last four years.

“It’s a tremendous sense of pride in what we accomplished as an organization,” Jones said. “I played a little past those guys, but it’s nice to finally join them in this hallowed fraternity.”