Chipper Jones filled with goose bumps on Hall of Fame visit
The former Braves slugger is getting ready to be inducted this summer.
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Chipper Jones quickly developed a case of goose bumps that lingered. With baseball history staring at him at every turn, it was understandable.
The former Atlanta 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.
“Walking through these doors, it’s really awe-inspiring,” 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. To be in the presence of greatness, it’s kind of like walking down the tunnel in Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park. You can feel the aura and the ghosts.”
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, also elected on his first try, Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, Alan Trammell and Jack Morris. Trammell and Morris, former teammates on the Detroit 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 and a big part of Atlanta teams that won 14 straight division titles.
JONES Milo Stewart Jr. / National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum via AP
Hall of Fame inductee Chipper Jones laughs as he holds a candy bar named after him during his orientation tour Tuesday at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.