Chipper Jones is an American sports legend and former player of Major Lague Baseball (MLB), who was All-Star eight times. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 29, 2018, and has won several awards, including the NL Silver Slugger Award (1999-2000), the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player Award (1999), and the MLB Batting Champion (2008).
In the 1990 MLB draft, Jones was number one in the overall selection for the Atlanta Braves and spent his entire MLB career (1995 to 2012) in the Atlanta organization. He was eliminated with a record average of 0.303 strokes, 2,726 hits, 468 home runs, and 1,623 runs, making him the only switch-hitter in MLB history with a career average of at least 0.300 strokes and over 400 home runs. He is the author of a book entitled: Ballplayers. You can read more about him below.
Chipper Jones Biography (Age)
Larry Wayne “Chipper” Jones Jr. was born on April 24, 1972, in DeLand, Florida, the son of parents Lynne and Larry Wayne Jones Sr. His father was a teacher and coach at T. DeWitt Taylor High School in Pierson, the same school Jones attended and where he played baseball.
The name “Chipper” was a nickname given to him by his father and family members who considered him a chip from the old block. As a child, Jones’s love of baseball was largely influenced by his father’s position as coach, so it is no surprise that he began playing at the age of 7.
As a freshman at Taylor High School, he was a pitcher and shortstop and played right field for a local American Legion baseball team.
Jones graduated from Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, where he played three seasons and won a state double-A championship with his team.
ALSO READ: Chris O’Dowd Biography, Wife, Children, Siblings, Family, Height
Chipper Jones finished college with a 7-3 record, took only 25 steps, hit .483, and knocked out 100 bats. Although he was selected by the Atlanta Braves in 1990 as the first player in the Major League Baseball Draft, Jones played in smaller leagues as the youngest player in the Major League until his debut on September 11, 1993.
For 19 seasons in his MLB career, he played for the Atlanta Braves and only missed one season (1994) due to an ACL tear in his left knee that left him on the disabled list for the entire season, which was shortened by strikes. Nonetheless, he returned in 1995 to actively participate in 140 games and achieved a level of success by finishing second in the Baseball Writers’ Rookie of the Year poll.
He participated in both the 1995 World Series, where the Braves won six games against the Cleveland Indians, and the 1996 World Series.
A few years later (1995-1999), Chipper Jones won the National League MVP award after becoming the first player ever to beat over .300 (.319). He subsequently won the Players Choice Outstanding Rookie of the Year award and the Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year award (1995). In 1999 he received three awards, including the “Most Valuable Player” award, the “Players Choice Outstanding Player of the Year” award, and the “Silver Slugger”, National League.
After his first contract with the team expired, he signed a $90 million six-year contract in 2000, which allowed him to play his best games with the Braves. That year he won his second National League Silver Slugger Award.
Jones reached another milestone in his career in the 2006 season when he became the absolute RBI leader of the Braves with his 1,144th career hit on June 10, 2006. In 2009 he was ranked 10th on the list of the 50 best players in baseball. At the age of 36, he won his first batting title, becoming the oldest switch hitter to win the title in 2008.
Despite a resignation discussion with the Atlanta Braves management in June 2010 after he suffered a torn cruciate ligament in his left knee on August 10, Jones stated in a press conference on August 13 that he would not resign because he did not want to give fans a definitive picture of an injured senior citizen.
Chipper returned in 2011 after his full recovery from the injury to record his 1500th RBI against the Florida Marlins on April 13. He played 126 games, and while there was speculation about his retirement this year, he announced that he would play in the 2012 season, the final year of his contract with the Atlanta Braves.
His last game was in the 2012 National League Wild Card playoffs, where the Braves lost 6-3. This year he received the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award and played in 112 games.
Throughout his 19-year career, Chipper Jones has had an overall batting average of .303, .401 OBP, .529 SLG, and 2,726 hits in 2499 games played. He was honored with a fan tribute song called “The Chipper Jones Song” and was featured in a number of sports blogs following the announcement of his retirement.
Family, Wife, Children, and Affairs
Chipper Jones is a family man with five children: Sons, Matthew Jones, Shea Jones, Larry Wayne Jones III, and Tristen Jones. His youngest son was born to him by his current wife.
He was married three times to three different women: first to Karin Fulford (1992-1999) and Sharon Loginov (2000-2012) and his current wife.
ALSO READ: Who Is Lou Ferrigno, Is He Really Deaf, What Is His Net Worth, Who is The Wife?
Jones’ first marriage was broken up after it became known that he not only had an extramarital affair with a waitress, but the relationship also produced a son. His current wife is Taylor Higgins, a former Playboy model whom he married in 2015 and who both welcomed their son Cutler Ridge Jones to Atlanta on January 11, 2017.
Height
He has an athletic height of up to 6 feet 3 inches or 1.91 meters which served him very well in the game. Undoubtedly Chipper, like all athletes, still trains regularly to keep fit.
