Chipper to be extended

Chipper Jones is about to get a contract extension:

It appears Chipper Jones may get his wish to remain with the Braves throughout his entire career.

A Major League source has indicated that Jones and the Braves are close to agreeing to terms on a contact extension that could keep the veteran third baseman in Atlanta through the end of the 2013 season. An official announcement could come as soon as Tuesday.

Of course, since this is the Braves, it’s just as likely that the announcement will be that, rather than get extended, Jones has broken his current contract to sign with the Dodgers or Mariners or something.

Seriously though, for Braves fans this is one of those things that transcends objective analysis. I really don’t care what his injury risk is. I really don’t care how much money it’s for. At some point and with some players you have to throw that stuff out the window, and Jones is the player you do that for in Atlanta. He’s the Braves’ Al Kaline, and that’s the kind of guy you never want to see in another uniform, no matter how much of a shadow of his former self he becomes by the end of the deal.


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GBS
14 years ago

Third base for the Braves has also been home to not just Chipper, but also Eddie Mathews, so there’s been some stellar performance mixed in with that bag-o-Oberkfell, et al.

timmy
14 years ago

Chipper is one of my favorite players ever; though for me, it ultimately comes down to the Braves winning.  Whatever it takes for the Braves to win is acceptable to me.  But I like this contract; I feel it’s favorable for the team, and it keeps their best hitter happy and here for the rest of his career.

All that being said, if the Braves stink a year or two down the road (and I really don’t think they will, this team should only improve for the next few seasons), but if we were in a situation where it were obvious that Chipper couldn’t win in Atlanta, but we could send him to an AL team to give him a chance at a ring; I’d be bitterly okay with that.  As long as we were properly compensated in prospects. 

It was important for this organization to get this deal done, now before the season started.  If not extension went through, and with Bobby likely retiring after this season; Chipper would be a damn fool not to consider the bigger contract he could get on the open market.

kendynamo
14 years ago

as a mets fan, i hope the braves pay and play chipper far past the point of him making any positive contributions to the ball club.  i would enjoy few things more than watching larry have a miserable season.

Larry Seltzer
14 years ago

Is that a hyper-extended contract? How many weeks out is that?

As a lifelong Phillies fan I’ve always liked and admired Chipper. Anyone would or should want this guy on their team and the Braves are really lucky to have him.

tadthebad
14 years ago

The Braves are lucky to have him…through the end of his current deal.  Craig, unless Chipper took a significant pay cut, this isn’t the deal a team like the Braves should endorse.  Unlike the Yankees, the Braves can’t afford albatross contracts, can they?  I would have figured Braves fans, heck any fans, would like to be competitive rather than nostalgic.

Craig Calcaterra
14 years ago

Tad—given that Mike Hampton has just recently come off the books, we’re in one of the few times in recent history where they haven’t had an albatross contract, so Chipper’s won’t end the world.

But you are right in saying that the Braves can’t bear what some of the other teams can bear.  Still, I’d be willing to chance it with Chipper.  And it’s not 100% nostalgia, here.  The guy is still one of the top hitters in the game.  So unless the money is simply silly, it’s not necessarily a bad move to lock him up objectively speaking.

Wade
14 years ago

I’m all in.  Keep the man.  Still productive at the plate, and he’s given hometown discounts to the Braves before.  I’m under the impression that he’ll step aside when it’s good for the team.

The only 3-bagger I really remember for the Bravos, aside from the intrepid Bob Horner.  That may only be because of his curly locks of flaxen hair, shining in the Fulton County Stadium sun.  Memories…

Craig Calcaterra
14 years ago

Wade—those of us who remember Ken Oberkfell, an ancient Graig Nettles, Paul Runge (not the umpire), Jim Morrison (not the singer), and Jim Presley (not Elvis) realize how bad a sink third base can be in Atlanta.  As far as I’m concerned, Chipper can keep the job until rigor mortis sets in.

dlf
14 years ago

There is some point at which I would rather root for players I like than to see the team win.  I realized that a few years back when Gary Sheffield was briefly in Atlanta and I actively rooted for him to fail even if it were to cost the team the game.  I’m old enough that I clearly remember the debate over the drafting of Chipper and the displeasure that Todd Van Poppel was rejecting the woebegotten Braves.  Having watched Jones grow from there to become one of the 5 best to ever play the position has been a treat.  Seeing a picture of Willie Mays, Warren Spahn or Eddie Mathews as members of the Mets or Babe Ruth a Brave or Ty Cobb an Athletic or … is just esthetically displeasing.  For me, being a fan—a fanatic—is not something purely logical based solely on wins and losses.  Having Chipper Jones finish out his career in Atlanta is emotionally and esthetically pleasing to me even beyond the team’s performance.