Jones, Thome highlight this Cooperstown class
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.» Larry Wayne Jones Jr. was a throwback, a guy who played for only one majorleague club and always stayed focused on a single goal — trying to get better every day.
Pressure was an afterthought for the man dubbed Chipper, except perhaps in 1990 at the beginning of his career with the Atlanta Braves organization.
“Maybe my first year in rookie ball there was some pressure. Obviously, I didn’t perform,” said Jones, who batted just .229 with one homer and 18 RBIS in 140 at-bats in the Gulf Coast League while dealing with a hand injury. “There was some pushback for the Braves taking me.”
Any doubts about the switch-hitting overall No. 1 pick of the 1990 draft from the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., quickly faded. In Single-a ball the next season, Jones batted .326, hit 15 homers, drove in 98 runs and stole 40 bases. Four years later he was a regular in the Atlanta lineup at age 23 and relishing the journey.
“For me, it was just having fun and playing the game,” said Jones, whose nickname surfaced at a young age after family members called him a chip off the old block because he looked so much like his dad. “I never saw a pay stub during my time in the big leagues. I didn’t care what I was making. As long as I walked in the clubhouse and I saw my name in the three hole playing third for the Atlanta Braves, that’s all that really mattered.”
Those numbers — .303 career batting average, 549 doubles, 468 home runs, 1,623 RBIS — earned Jones baseball’s highest honor, election to the Hall of Fame on the first try. He’ll be inducted Sunday with Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, and former Detroit Tigers teammates Jack Morris and Alan Trammell. Thome also is a first-ballot selection, while Morris and Trammell were picked by a veterans committee last December.
Thome hit 612 home runs, eighth all time, and had an Mlb-record 13 walk-off homers, mostly for the Cleveland Indians. When he toured the Hall of Fame in late February to prepare for induction day, Thome got misty when he walked into the Plaque Gallery where his bronze likeness will hang after Sunday’s ceremony.
“It’s been an absolute dream,” Thome said. “I try to keep that (life) pretty simple, but it’s been very special to enjoy this with the ones you really care about and the people that are ... happy for you. That means so much.
“To go there and now call that home is just incredible.”
Hoffman, chosen in his third year on the ballot, played the bulk of his career with the San Diego Padres before finishing with the Milwaukee Brewers. After failing to impress the front office in three years as a shortstop, he switched to the bullpen and became a star. Using a stultifying changeup, Hoffman recorded 601 saves over 18 seasons, second all-time to former Yankees star Mariano Rivera’s 652.
Guerrero was elected on his second try, receiving 92.9 percent of the vote. The nine-time all-star outfielder batted .318 with 449 homers and 1,496 RBIS and was a notorious bad-ball hitter, a skill he learned as a kid growing up in the Dominican Republic playing a game similar to cricket.
Although he played half his career with the Montreal Expos, Guerrero will be the first player to enter the Hall wearing the cap of the Los Angeles Angels, the team where he enjoyed his greatest success.
Morris pitched 18 seasons for the Tigers, Twins, Blue Jays and Indians, and played on four World Series champions. In the 1980s, he led all pitchers with 2,444M innings pitched and 162 wins and topped all AL pitchers in strikeouts with 1,629.
The crowning achievement of Morris’ career was his 1-0 complete-game victory in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series while pitching for his hometown Twins.
That Morris had to wait so long to be picked for the Hall promises to make his speech memorable.
“I’ve had a long time to think about writing one,” he said. “I wanted this to be an impactful speech. I wanted it to be something that had meaning. When I started actually putting it into words, it was not as easy as I thought it was going to be.”
Trammell played shortstop for 20 seasons — all for the Tigers — and earned six All-star Game selections, four Gold Glove Awards and three Silver Slugger Awards. His .977 fielding percentage ranks sixth among shortstops with at least 2,000 games played. Born Aug. 27, 1970 in Peoria, Ill . ... 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, batted left, threw right . ... Elected in first year of eligibility, one of only 54 players to do so, receiving 89.8 percent of the ballots . ... Selected by the Cleveland Indians out of Illinois Central College in the 13th round of the 1989 amateur draft . ... Batted .276, played in 2,543 games and had 2,328 hits, 1,583 runs, 612 home runs and 1,699 RBIS in 22 seasons with the Indians, White Sox, Phillies, Dodgers, Twins and Orioles . ... Five-time all-star.
VLADIMIR GUERRERO
Born Feb. 9, 1975, in Don Gregorio, Dominican Republic . ... 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, batted right and threw right. .. Earned votes on 92.9 percent of all BBWAA ballots cast in his second year of eligibility. ... Batted .318 with 2,590 hits, 449 home runs, 1,496 RBIS and .553 slugging percentage in 16 seasons for the Expos, Angels, Rangers and Orioles . ... Nine-time all-star . ... Had 39 doubles, 39 homers, 124 runs and 126 RBIS to win 2004 AL MVP award . ... Spent six seasons with the Angels after eight years in Montreal and will be first player inducted with an Angels logo on his Hall plaque.
ALAN TRAMMELL
Born Feb. 21, 1958 in Garden Grove, Calif . ... 6-foot, 165 pounds, batted right and threw right . ... Elected last December by a veterans committee . ... Drafted by the Detroit Tigers on the second round of the 1976 MLB amateur draft . ... Consistent all-around producer at shortstop from 1977-96, playing in 2,293 games for the Tigers . ... Had 2,365 hits, 185 homers, 1,003 RBIS, 1,231 runs, and 236 stolen bases . ... Six-time all-star . ... Hit two home runs in one game and batted .450 to win MVP honors in Detroit’s five-game triumph over the San Diego Padres in 1984 World Series.