Braves 3B Jones joins elite home run club
Apparently, one 400 mark wasn’t enough for Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones.
The Pierson native, who grew up playing Little League baseball in DeLand, launched a sixth-inning solo home run off Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco on this day in 2008 as he joined Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray as the only switchhitters in Major League Baseball history with at least 400 home runs.
Jones, who finished his career with 468 homers and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012, wound up with four hits in the 7-5 victory at Turner Field.
“To be lumped in with those guys is what I’m shooting for,” Jones told the Associated Press following the game. “This is a step closer but still a long, long way from those guys. They set the bar really high.”
The 36-year-old entered the game hitting .409 and his performance raised his average to .418. It was the highest average in MLB history through June 5 since
they train constantly. We had a pause in their training. It’s going to take some time to make sure they’re safe, make sure they’re healthy, make sure we’re not pushing them or allowing them to do things too quickly.”
Meanwhile, the University Athletic Association’s staff returned to work Monday at 25% capacity. Every member of the athletic department staff eventually will be screened and tested.
Unlike many schools, UF has be able to avoid eliminating jobs or cut athletic programs. Athletics finished the 2018-19 fiscal year with a profit of nearly $17.9 million.
Again,
Stricklin would
completely different light. He will go down on the right side of history as one of the sporting world’s most socially significant athletes.
Ali was originally reviled by white America, arrested and had his heavyweight championship stripped from him when he refused to be drafted during the Vietnam War. His famous quote: “I ain’t go no quarrel with the Vietcong. No Vietcong never called me a [racial slur.]” Ali, of course, went on to become an international icon and seminal figure of the civil rights movement.
The same with Carlos and Smith, who were internationally castigated during their Olympic medal ceremony in 1968 when they each bowed their heads and raised a blackgloved fist during the playing of the national anthem. They were booed as they stepped down from the medal stand and banned from the Olympic village.
Brent Musburger, before
know what I’m saying. … It really ain’t fair. … Me being a man of color, I want to be that change.”
Wilson said he went through the same painful experiences and described his plan to be a strong role model for young people in Tallahassee, proving he could reach his goal of playing in the NFL by working hard.
“I’m going to tell those kids you can be whatever you want in this world if you put your mind to it and you work hard because you come from royalty,” he said. “You are black and you should be proud of that. … You stand for something and you mean something. You have a story to tell and a story that should be heard no matter what. You are special.
“I’m going to tell little girls that they are special. That they mean something. That we need our black women, we need to stop oppressing our black women and build them up. Show them they are worth something.
“Show our black men that they are not thugs, they
Yankees outfielder Paul O’Neill was at .430 in 1994, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Jones went on to post a .364 average and capture his first batting title.
Jones’ homer off Nolasco, his 14th of the season, landed about 10 rows into the right-field seats with two outs in the sixth. Fans called on Jones to make a curtain call.
The Marlins, meanwhile, never had the chance to pitch around the Braves’ slugger.
“He’s sure not missing. He’s locked in,” Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez, a former Braves coach, told the Associated Press after the game. “I’ve never seen him this hot for this long.” not predict what could happen going forward as the coronavirus casts a cloud over college sports.
“We’re fortunate,” he said. “We’ve not had to impact our staff or our student-athletes from a financial standpoint. We haven’t had to take away services from our athletes, we haven’t had to reduce scholarships. You see schools that are eliminating sports, we haven’t had to do that. We haven’t had to lay off any staff.
“Depending on what happens the next few months, that may change.” he became a famous TV commentator, was a newspaper columnist for the Chicago American and railed against Smith and Carlos. He wrote a column calling them “a couple of black-skinned storm troopers” who were “ignoble,” “juvenile” and “unimaginative.”
More than a half-century later, Smith and Carlos are considered freedom fighters who were noble, resolute and courageous.
And, remarkably, as far as I can tell, it’s been 52 years and Musburger still has not apologized to Carlos and Smith.
Let’s not make the same mistake.
Take a knee with me and say the words that need to be said.
I’m sorry, Colin Kaepernick. are more than an athlete. Homeboy, you can go be a doctor or lawyer if you want to be. You can be whatever you want in this world if you put your mind to it and work hard. No matter what you do in life, it’s going to be hard, there’s going to be challenges, there’s going to be naysayers, there’s going to be people who say you can’t do it. As long as you’ve got your mind, got that knowledge, you can do whatever you want.”
Wilson has long been an integral team leader for the Seminoles and it was considered a recruiting win for Norvell when the AllAmerican candidate passed on leaving early for the NFL to help rebuild the FSU program. He was sidelined by an injury last season, but he remained a vocal leader after head coach Willie Taggart was fired and interim coach Odell Haggins took over, meeting the team bus when it returned from road trips to cheer on his teammates.