Jones, who has played his entire 19-year Major League career with Atlanta, thanked his family, friends, fans, and teammates at a press conference and said he’s happy and proud to have spent every season with the Braves. Jones was fortunate enough to play during the team’s most successful period in history by winning the World Series as a rookie in 1995 and winning 11 straight division titles with the team.
Braves’ president John Schuerholz said Jones has 18 amazing seasons with the team and hopes that his 19th will be the best yet by winning another World Series ring. Schuerholz said Jones has been an all star several times during his career and has better than a .300 batting average, but most of all, he could be depended on for getting a hit when the team really needed it.
The 39-year-old Jones still had an option year left on his contract which would have seen him earn about $7 million next season. However, he said he felt it was time to say goodbye and leave the team on his own terms. He added that his knees were beginning to bother him in spring Training and realized his playing days were coming to a close.
Jones told his Braves teammates a week earlier that he was going to call it a day at the end of the season and promised he wouldn’t quit on them halfway through it. Recent press reports had stated that Jones said he might not be able to make it through the year, but he said he was simply joking and his words were taken out of context.
Jones said he’s achieved everything he wanted to as a player and he didn’t announce his retirement in the offseason because his body was feeling fine. He said the aches and pains didn’t start until he began Spring Training.
He started his association with Atlanta back in 1990 when the club drafted him first overall during the First-Year Player Draft. Jones was named an all star seven times and was named the National League’s MVP in 1999. So far he has batted .304 throughout his career with 454 home runs, 1561 RBI and an on-base percentage of .402
Eddie Murray is the only other switch hitter in MLB history to reach at least 1,500 RBI and 2,500 hits in a career. Jones won the batting crown in 2008 with a 364 average, which is the second best by a switch hitter. Mickey Mantle managed to bat .365 in 1957. Jones is also in some elite company for several other offensive categories and it’s likely he’ll someday be a Hall of Famer, quite possibly on the first ballot.
We are the internet’s premiere content exchange for great sports articles and blog posts. We bring together publishers looking for a great source for sports-related content with writers and websites looking to promote their websites and blogs.
