Just looking at his numbers, Chipper Jones had a forgettable final regular-season homestand. Actually, his performance was abysmal, going 1-for-10 for the weekend, with a lone single lucky enough to break through the infield during Sunday’s win against the New York Mets.
But to everyone except for the third baseman himself — who noticeably struggled with his ongoing slump — his level of play was beside the point. Braves fans at Turner Field were far more concerned with sending off their beloved icon with a celebration worthy of his 19-year, soon-to-be–Hall of Fame career.
Braves fans apparently missed the memo that last night’s Atlanta-Nationals matchup was ESPN’s game of the week. Turner Field was a little more than half full, with just over 29,000 in attendance. That’s even counting the canines that came with their owners for "Bark in the Park" night, and before the persistent mid-game drizzles sent fans in search of shelter.
It’s surprising that the game was so sparsely attended, as it was potentially Chipper Jones’s seventh-to-last game in Atlanta (wild-card and playoff games pending). Five and a half months into his season-long farewell tour, Chipper’s imminent departure hasn’t truly hit most Braves fans yet. This certainly was, however you look at it, the final home game before Chippermania comes to full fruition in the season’s final weeks.
As a way to get people excited for the 2011 season, the Atlanta Braves announced the return of Bobblehead Nights. There were three slated for the year — one for young gun Jason Heyward; one for newly acquired, yet-to-play Dan Uggla; and one for Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones Jr. For the last fellow, it was one of the many ways to honor and celebrate the longtime Brave, whose storied career seemed increasingly close to its end.
Unfortunately for the 38,000-plus that showed up to Turner Field for Chipper Jones Bobblehead Night on July 28, their man wasn't even in the starting lineup. There are many awkward things in sports fandom, but a stadium full of people shaking a wobbly doll while the headsake is sitting in the dugout has got to be up there. The seventh inning began like the others — with no Chipper — but with one out and a man on first, a pinch hitter approached home plate to replace relief pitcher Anthony Varvaro.
It was Chipper Jones. Chip was about to take part in a baseball game on Chipper Jones Bobblehead Night. This was amazing.
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports over the weekend.
Usain Bolt won his second straight gold medal in the men's 100-meter dash, pulling away from the field and finishing in 9.63 seconds, an Olympic record. The victory had a somewhat odd conclusion as the famously egotistical Bolt spread both arms wide and leaped into the air, expecting to become the first human to fly, only to crash into fourth-place finisher Tyson Gay and curse him out for "standing on the runway like an idiot."
It was an 8-0 blowout that was decided by the fourth. Both sides breezed through 1-2-3 inning after 1-2-3 inning thereafter — great if you're a student of pitching, not so much if you're looking for fireworks. And the game ended with a retired manager making sure he could lull fans to sleep one more time before hanging 'em up. But we still counted 13 lucky, awesome, winsome, and gruesome random moments from the 83rd MLB All-Star Game:
13. Luke Bryan would like a moment. Actually, he'd like all the moments.
The country singer's rendition of the national anthem took so long, it ripped a hole in the space-time continuum. As a reminder, the only person who's allowed to stretch out the anthem is Marvin Gaye. Although there's also something to be said for doing it like this.
Chipper Jones sits at his locker, shoulders slumped, deep creases under his eyes, looking up wistfully. He's wearing a Braves T-shirt, compression shorts, knee socks, and slip-ons. At that moment, he doesn't look like one of the greatest hitters who ever lived. In a state of half-dress, still in good shape but with a weathered face that betrays his age, he looks like the best player on a 35-and-older fast-pitch softball team.
"You hate to cheat the fans from being able to watch a guy like that pitch, especially in his final years," he says, discussing the knee injury Mariano Rivera just suffered. "Nobody wants everybody's last image of you to be getting carted off or carried off the field."
He's talking about baseball mortality. Rivera's, sure. But mostly his own. Chipper turned 40 on April 24 and his own knees are failing him, and it's eating him up inside. Two years ago, Chipper blew out his left ACL. Now, his knees punish him. They prompted surgery in spring training. Made him miss the first four games of the season. They blow up on plane rides. After two or three games in a row, they give him agony, to the point where some mornings he can barely walk.
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports over the weekend.
A chestnut colt named I'll Have Another won the 138th Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Nobody was happier about the win than Rex Ryan, who celebrated deep into the night until someone told him that the horse wasn't named after his personal food motto. In related news, golfer John Daly is suing the horse for copyright infringement.
The defending NBA champions are out of the playoffs. James Harden scored 29 points and made several late baskets as the Thunder swept the Mavericks with a 103-97 Game 4 win. When he saw the result, a therapist in L.A. sighed, realizing that Metta World Peace would spend the full hour of this week's session expounding on his theory that his vicious elbow from two weeks ago gave Harden superpowers, and that the only way to reverse them is to elbow him again.
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Wednesday.
Angels hurler Jered Weaver threw MLB's second no-hitter of the season, striking out nine and walking one in a 9-0 win over the Twins. "Why couldn't you be perfect?" screamed Weaver's mother, who was actually Weaver himself wearing a wig and staring in a mirror. "You're nothing! You'll always be nothing!" Man, Jered Weaver is complicated.
I have a different take (or more precisely, my buddy Aaron had a different take, he IM'd me demanding that I write it, and I agreed). It goes like this: As things stand now, Chipper Jones is a sure Hall of Famer. He's even a first-ballot Hall of Famer, despite the notoriously fickle leanings of some Hall voters who find it great sport to make former players and their families suffer a bit (or in some cases, die) before getting their reward. But what about his contemporaries, the best active major leaguers near the end of their careers? If they too announced they'd retire at the end of this season, would they make the Hall of Fame? Should they?
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Thursday.
The Wisconsin Badgers hit 14 of their 27 3-point attempts, but it wasn't enough to hold off the efficient Syracuse Orange, who advanced to the Elite Eight with a 64-63 win. Fans of the Badgers' plodding style were heartened to see their team finish the season by running the stall offense while trailing by three with a minute left, and then stalling again on the last possession before Jordan Taylor was forced to throw up a low-percentage 3. Reporters asked Bo Ryan about the curious strategy, but he spoke so slowly that they were unable to transcribe his words, and then custodians threw everyone out of the building because it was 3 a.m.
Earlier this afternoon, Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones Jr. announced that the 2012 MLB season would be his last.
From now until, hopefully, October (come on Braves, Win Just One More for the Chipper), his well-deserved farewell tour will consist of analysts discussing his legacy and his place among the greats. There's the accolades and statistics, be it the 1995 World Series championship, the 1999 NL MVP award, the record-tying 14 consecutive 20-plus home run seasons to start his career, as well as the seven All-Star games and 450 home runs (both "and counting"). There's the discussion of "greatest switch-hitter" and whether he is inarguably third behind Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray, or whether a case could be made for him sneaking into second. And there's the first-ballot Hall-of-Famer conversation — whether it's a no-brainer or should he wait a year.
Here’s your Wednesday baseball news long toss covering stories on and off the field.
Is the 2012 season shaping up to be Torii Hunter's version of The Black Album? The Angel in the outfield (self high-five) is quasi-threatening to hang up his cleats after his contract expires. In lieu of a contract extension offer from Anaheim, the 36-year-old veteran doesn't sound like he wants to play anywhere else. At the very least, the one place you won't see Hunter is on the East Coast. "I really don't like the Beasts of the East," he said. "I really don't want to be the Evil Empire, because I didn't like them for so long."
