Chipper Jones hits another home run with his book

Chipper Jones will be a first ballot Hall-of-Famer when he is included on the 2018 list of baseball eligible’s in January.

He hit 468 home runs during his 19-year career with the Atlanta Braves, and he has another home run in his new book written with former Telegraph sports writer Carroll Rogers Walton entitled “Chipper Jones, Ballplayer.” I just finished reading it, and it is one of the most compelling sports books I have read as Jones was both honest and candid.

There is no question that he was a student of the game, learning from his dad from the time he started playing the game and from baseball luminaries throughout his career. His dad, Larry Wayne Jones Sr., a high school and college coach, was a big fan of New York Yankees great Mickey Mantle. Mantle was a great switch-hitter, and Jones’ father encouraged his son to bat from both sides, which he did and became one of the game’s all-time greats in that aspect of the game, as well.

For his career, he hit .303 from the right side and .304 from the left side. Jones refers to his dad as his all-time hitting coach. Jones also picked up tips from Hall-of-Famers Willie Stargell and Cal Ripken, who was one of his childhood heroes, and former Braves hitting coach Don Baylor.

In the book, Jones takes you on a trip from his time with the Pierson Cubs, his first organized team, all the way to Atlanta. Stops along the way included, among others, the Bolles School in Jacksonville, the Macon Braves and the Durham Bulls.

You learn that Jones thought “Barry Bonds is the best all around player I ever saw don a uniform, in person in my life.” But he apparently had no use for Bonds, because he disrespected Jones about an autograph request. Jones says, at one time, he hated Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter until he got to know him, and they are now good friends.

And Gary Sheffield is one of his five best friends in baseball after the duo became teammates with the Braves. Jones got to meet Mantle when they did an autograph show together in Atlanta. You will find all those stories very interesting.

Jones played with Atlanta’s big three pitchers — John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine — and he related that if he had to pick one to start a game for him it would be Smoltz. Jones takes you inside the Atlanta clubhouse and shares some of the pranks he had played on him and some of them he played on other players. He also reflects on his New York connection where he was referred to as Larry and his lifetime career with the Braves.

He was the first pick in the 1990 major league draft and signed on with Atlanta for $275,000. He went on to earn $161 million during his career.

Jones is candid about his personal life, especially relating to his first wife Karin whom he met while playing with the Macon Braves. At the time, she was a student at Wesleyan College. That marriage lasted six years before it ended due to infidelity on his part. His first son, Matthew, was born out of wedlock to one of three women had had affairs with.

His next marriage, in 2000, lasted 12 years and produced three sons, Shea, Tristen and Trey. He has been married to his third wife, Taylor, since 2015.

Despite his off the field indiscretions, Jones is still the most popular all time Atlanta professional sports figure.

It is one of those books you can’t put down. To give you an idea, it’s 370 pages, and I read it in one day.

This story was originally published April 17, 2017 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Chipper Jones hits another home run with his book."