ATLANTA - The Atlanta Braves congratulate third baseman Chipper Jones on his election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame tonight. Jones received 97.2% of the vote, the 11^th highest in plurality all-time.
Jones, 45, played all of his 19 major league seasons with the Braves, making his debut in 1993 as a 21-year-old shortstop after the club drafted him first overall three years earlier. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound native of DeLand, Fla., played in 2,499 career games, primarily at third base, and retired in 2012 at the age of 40 as the Atlanta franchise leader in nearly offensive category. An eight-time All-Star and the 1999 National League MVP, Jones finished with a .303 (2,726-for-8,984) career average, 468 home runs and 1,623 RBI, while striking out fewer times than he walked (1,512 walks to 1,409 strikeouts).
Jones led the Braves to the postseason in 12 of his 19 seasons, and hit .364 (20-for-55) with three home runs over 14 playoff games in 1995 to help the Braves win the only World Series title in Atlanta franchise history. In 93 career postseason games, Jones batted .287 (97-for-338) with 13 home runs and his 97 hits are the most of any National Leaguer in MLB history.
A switch-hitter, Jones hit .304 as a right-hander and .303 as a lefty. He ranks second all-time among switch-hitters in batting average and RBI, and third in home runs. Jones is one of 13 players in history to hit at least 450 home runs with a .300 career average, and the only switch-hitter to accomplish the feat. He also became the oldest switch-hitter to win a batting title, when he hit a career-best .364 in 2008 at the age of 36.
The Braves inducted Jones into the franchise Hall of Fame in 2013, while also retiring his No. 10 the same season. He is first player to wear a Braves uniform to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame since John Smoltz in 2015. The Braves have had an inductee with a tie to the organization elected to the Hall of Fame in four of the last five classes, starting in 2013 with James "Deacon" White. Bobby Cox, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Tony LaRussa and Joe Torre entered in 2014, while Smoltz earned induction in 2015 followed by John Schuerholz in 2017.
Jones serves currently in the Braves' front office, as a special assistant to baseball operations.