If you were a baseball fan back in 1990, you may remember the hype about a prospect named Todd Van Poppel. He was a big, laser-armed high school kid from Texas, the consensus No. 1 draft pick. But he had committed to attending the University of Texas.
The Braves coming off a 97-loss season, held the top pick. They weren't willing to take the gamble on Van Poppel. Bobby Cox, then the team's general manager, had made a last-ditch plea to sign Van Poppel. "He said he was going to school," Cox said at the time, "but I'm sure somebody will pick him."
The Oakland A's did take Van Poppel with the 14th pick -- and signed him. The Braves settled for a high school shortstop from Florida named Larry Wayne Jones Jr. -- everyone called him Chipper -- and gave him a $275,000 signing bonus plus $68,000 to cover college expenses in case his baseball career didn't work out.
"Chipper is a blue-chip high school talent," Braves vice president Paul Snyder said then. "The fact that he can switch-hit is a definite bonus, as is his tremendous speed. For us, it's a quality draft at a quality position."
No, Jones wouldn't need that $68,000. And I'd say that baseball career worked out pretty well.
Jones announced Thursday that he'll retire at season’s end after what will be 19 seasons in the majors and more than 2,400 games played. Back when free agency began, they said players would move around from team to team like traveling salesmen, or that they would retire in their early 30s because they'll have made so much money. But Chipper stayed with the Braves, grinding out a career as long as he could, playing for years on bad, aching knees. He enters his final season with 454 home runs, a career .304 batting average, 1,561 RBIs, a National League MVP Award and 11 years playing in the postseason. When he appears on the Hall of Fame ballot in five years, he'll go straight to Cooperstown. Thanks Chipper!
The Braves coming off a 97-loss season, held the top pick. They weren't willing to take the gamble on Van Poppel. Bobby Cox, then the team's general manager, had made a last-ditch plea to sign Van Poppel. "He said he was going to school," Cox said at the time, "but I'm sure somebody will pick him."
The Oakland A's did take Van Poppel with the 14th pick -- and signed him. The Braves settled for a high school shortstop from Florida named Larry Wayne Jones Jr. -- everyone called him Chipper -- and gave him a $275,000 signing bonus plus $68,000 to cover college expenses in case his baseball career didn't work out.
"Chipper is a blue-chip high school talent," Braves vice president Paul Snyder said then. "The fact that he can switch-hit is a definite bonus, as is his tremendous speed. For us, it's a quality draft at a quality position."
No, Jones wouldn't need that $68,000. And I'd say that baseball career worked out pretty well.
Jones announced Thursday that he'll retire at season’s end after what will be 19 seasons in the majors and more than 2,400 games played. Back when free agency began, they said players would move around from team to team like traveling salesmen, or that they would retire in their early 30s because they'll have made so much money. But Chipper stayed with the Braves, grinding out a career as long as he could, playing for years on bad, aching knees. He enters his final season with 454 home runs, a career .304 batting average, 1,561 RBIs, a National League MVP Award and 11 years playing in the postseason. When he appears on the Hall of Fame ballot in five years, he'll go straight to Cooperstown. Thanks Chipper!
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