Atlanta Braves are about to See More of an Old Friend
That Didn’t Take Long… Chipper Jones Returning to Atlanta
He retired after the 2012 season after two decades behind a tomahawk. He has occasionally dedicated himself to rescuing stranded baseball players in need. Shortly thereafter, the moved to Texas to help his Dad with their ranch. But it seems there’s still too much baseball left in this 43-year-old.
Chipper Jones is coming back.
Carroll (Rogers) Walton has the story from yesterday in the AJC, quoting Chipper as saying “I came to the realization that this [the Double Dime ranch] isn’t home for me…Home is Atlanta.”
Today, Jones and wife Taylor will be en route to Georgia to start the process of returning (I understand that Freddie Freeman has a house for sale… just sayin’). Walton writes that he had considered just getting a temporary landing spot for times in which he was in town… but it just didn’t feel like the right thing.
"“I don’t want to just be a face that shows up every once in a while,” Jones said. “And I know that’s the way it’s going to be if I’m living out here [in Texas]. There are going to be times when Freddie Freeman is going to call me up and say, ‘I need you to look at me, I need you to analyze footage.’ Jace Peterson might say, ‘Hey man, can you come down and give us a third set of eyes?’ I want to be there for them. I want to be a phone call away. I want to be a 30-minute drive away. I don’t want to be five states and 1,500 miles [away]. I’m taking this job seriously.”"
It was just over a month ago when we reported that the Braves had hired him with a title akin to ‘Special Assistant to the General Manager.’ Curiously, his name doesn’t actually appear on the list of Front Office personnel (yet), but there are a number of people who already have a title like this:
- Bobby Cox
- Gordon Blakeley
- Roy Clark
- Chad MacDonald
- Rick Williams
- Tom Giordano
Additionally, there are two names attached to the title ‘Special Assistant to Baseball Operations’:
This latter pair is most interesting with respect to Chipper’s ultimate role. Walker (the most recent past major league hitting coach) and McGriff were hired a year ago, with McGriff to be a Spring Instructor and begin work as a pro scout. Walker’s purpose was to work with the minor league hitters, and as a roving farm instructor during the season.
From the sound of it, Jones will likely become the de facto Assistant Hitting Coach, supporting the work of Kevin Seitzer – though nobody has really said as much. Seitzer is nearly 54, and though his playing career overlapped with Jones’ for 4 seasons, they is no direct history together.
Next: Let's Get Him Together With This 3B Candidate
Nonetheless, it remains to be seen just how much the Braves will actually see of Chipper – but it’s pretty evident that the “itch” of missing baseball is there… and there’s a hunch here that it will only continue to get stronger over time.
Texas deer are rejoicing… except that he can still go back for hunting season.