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Interviews
Chipper
Jones
 How many players would you recognize right off the bat
just by their first names? Ichiro, Kirby, Cal, Sammy.... You have to be special
to be known by your first name alone. Sure, it helps to have a distinctive
name, but many of these players also have a distinctive charisma about them, a
team spirit that transcends their individuality and ironically makes them more
endearing as individuals because they embrace the team.
The same
applies to "Chipper."
A Florida native, Chipper Jones was fortunate
enough to be drafted out of high school and has played professional baseball
ever since. Now in his ninth season, Jones is the quiet, steady force that has
helped drive the Atlanta Braves to their seventh straight playoff appearance.
And although he hit .327 as a switch hitter this year--with 100 RBIs, 179 hits,
and 26 HRs--and was voted the NL MVP in 1999, personal accomplishments are
secondary to him.
Strike that.... The "personal glory" bit probably
isn't even that high on his list. To listen to Chipper is to hear the recurrent
themes of "family" and "team." To read his personal website is to learn about
his Chipper Jones Family Foundation, which helps fund organizations such as The
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Florida and Georgia Sheriffs' Youth Ranches,
Stetson University, the Take 'Em Deep Program started with businessman Richard
Hagstrom, and Boys and Girls Clubs and Little League Programs in the Atlanta
area. And to watch him play is to see a throwback who plays the game because he
loves it. He says he is lucky to have been given the talent to succeed playing
a game he loves. But to characterize his success as good luck wouldn't be
entirely accurate. As Chipper explains himself, a typical day for a ball
player--especially on the road--is not an easy one. The main reason? Being away
from his family....
 I'm sure in the final weeks
of the regular season, after Atlanta had clinched the NL East and before the
beginning of the playoffs, that Chipper could have found something better to do
than answer a bunch of questions about rude fans, team chemistry, baseball's
labor agreement, the All-Star tie...and tofu and beer bottle genies. But the
fact that he agreed and devoted more than an hour to us should not surprise
anyone who has watched him on or off the field.
You have to be a
special player--someone who cherishes his family, makes sacrifices for his
team, and holds the game of baseball in the highest regard--to be called
Chipper. You have to be someone who believes in "using [his] gifts and public
image to help the community."
Chipper.... Not Killer, not Hammer, not
Spike. The name means "lively." You have to be upbeat with a name like
that.
And special.
A day in the life of a ballplayer
OBC: A lot of
fans think players show up an hour before game time and just go out and play.
What is a typical day like for Chipper Jones?
Jones: I usually get up around 10 or 11, spend time with
the boys, eat some lunch, watch some film of the pitchers we might be facing
that night, and head to the park around 1:30 or 2 pm. Once I get to the park,
around 2:30 or 3:00, I usually get whatever treatment I need, play some cards
or dominoes with the guys, watch any film I might want to, and then get ready
for batting practice. After batting practice, we just get ready for the game.
After the game, we will do the interviews, shower up, and go home. I
usually get home around midnight. I hang out with my wife, kiss my kids
goodnight, and try to wind down. I will go to bed around 1:30 or 2 am. This all
assumes I am at home--which isn't very often, it seems. Being on the road is
very difficult, because of the time away from my family.
OBC: Is that the hardest aspect of your job that doesn't
relate to baseball--the traveling?
 Jones: The
hardest part is being away from my kids and wife...and some of things I hear on
the field. Just the personal things about my family that don't have anything to
do with the game. I think that people sometimes believe that buying a ticket
entitles them to say anything they want, and that is unfortunate. I don't mind
the yelling, or the ripping on me personally. And I appreciate fans who do it
in good taste and fun, but the ones who scream personal things and profanities
about my wife and kids--things that shouldn't be said ANY time--that is
uncalled for. And it is unfortunate because the kids in the stands hear that
stuff too. It ruins it for everyone.
OBC: I don't know if fans feel they've
paid for the right to be rude. Maybe there are just a lot of low-class fans.
Jones: Ninety-nine percent of the fans are out there
cheering for their team and telling me that I couldn't hit a watermelon with a
banjo. Those fans are great. It is just a shame that a select few make it bad
for the rest of the fans.
OBC: Have you noticed any
regional differences in crowds? That is, are fans in the Northeast more likely
to throw hard objects at you or question the genus and species of your
relatives? Do fans in SoCal just moon players they don't like?
 Jones: Oh yes. The fans in the North are very, very
passionate about their teams. I think some of it comes from the history of the
teams like Boston, the Yankees, the Mets, Cleveland, etc. Who can talk about
the Yankees and not speak of Mantle, Ruth, DiMaggio, and Maris? That is history
that you can't replace. Who can talk about the Mets and not talk about the last
time they were in the Series? Who can talk about Boston and not talk about the
curse of Babe Ruth? That is what makes these fans so passionate.
Not to
say that the West Coast fans don't like their teams; they just seem to be much
more laid back. But, I'll tell you this: Some of the loudest places I have been
are in San Diego and San Francisco, so I guess when it's all on the line, they
show up. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. No matter how laid back
someone might be in Portland, when it comes time to really support the Blazers,
they step up huge.
Braves
OBC: At the beginning of
the season, people in the press said Atlanta would be rebuilding, yet the
Braves have the best record in the National League. Is it an attitude change in
the clubhouse? Have changes to the lineup created this great synergy?
Jones:
It's the same. Guys like Smoltzie, Glav, and Doggie [Maddux] are just a
stabilizing force for our club. They have that attitude of "we know what we are
doing, and we know that we are going to be there at the end" that spills over
to the younger guys and creates an aura of confidence with the young and new
guys. Guys like Sheff, Franco, Bragg, and the new pitchers just see that and
fall right into line. I can't say enough about each of these
guys.
OBC: The
Braves have been criticized for "choking" in the post-season a number of times
in the last decade. What makes this year's Braves different from playoff teams
of the past?
Jones: Oh, I don't think we
have choked at all. I can only think of one year where I really thought that we
should have won the World Series and didn't. That was in '96. In '99, the
Yankees were just a better team. Last year, the D-backs were a better team.
I feel great about this team. We are a year older, and that's a good
thing. Put Sheff, the role guys, and the staff in the mix, and I really like
our team, and particularly our chemistry.
OBC: You have
been on a tear this year. Have you done anything different this season, such as
adjusting your swing or your stance in the box? Does it have anything to do
with a tofu and soy bean diet?
Jones: I
started out very slowly. Just really trying to find my swing. I have adjusted a
ton over the course of the year (hands, alignment, stance, stride). My dad and
Terry [Pendleton] have helped me find my swing again. I am feeling pretty good
at the plate right now, and it has nothing to do with tofu or soy beans. Soy
beans are for the deer on my ranch.
OBC: What gets a
player off more: A great at bat or a great defensive play?
 Jones: I think everyone knows that it is a great at bat.
Honestly, though, I am over the personal achievements; that is not what moves
me at this point. I just want to help this team. That is why I told Bobby [Cox]
and John [Schuerholz] that I would move to the outfield if it would make us a
better team. That is why I have no problem hitting in the four-hole when I have
been a three-hole hitter my whole career. This game is about THIS team and us
winning. If making that great defensive play helps us win the game, and I go 0
for 4, then I am going to be a happy guy. 
OBC: When you AREN'T very happy about your
personal performance, do you ever take your frustration out on inanimate
objects? For example, if the team wins, but you strike out four times and make
several bonehead plays, have you ever, in anger, hit a watermelon with a banjo?
And what do you think of players who bludgeon water coolers to death? Do you do
anything like that?
Jones: I almost never
do. I kill myself on the inside, which probably works to my disadvantage at
times. I think guys take out their anger in different ways. I don't hold it
against anyone who kicks the crap out of a water cooler or bangs his helmet on
the ground. We all laugh about it later anyway. Whatever a player needs to do
to put it behind him and focus on helping the team the next inning is all that
is important.
OBC: You've always been known as a
"gamer." Given baseball's day-in-day-out schedule, how often do you play in
pain? Do players complain about stubbed toes or paper cuts in the clubhouse, or
do they try to out-macho each other?
Jones:
As I get older, it seems like it is more of a recurrent thing. I played in
probably 30 or 40 games this year where I could have sat out. I played in
probably 20 or so where I shouldn't have been playing, but I hate being on the
bench; it kills me. I am not a good bench guy. Maybe some day, but definitely
not now. Most guys are the same way.
I think, as you get older, you
realize that you might need to sacrifice one day for the benefit of yourself
and your team. You can't do the team any good if you are not at your best, and
sometimes that day off can help tremendously. I am trying to learn that lesson,
but my instinct is to suck it up and play.
The
state of the game
OBC: Which is more important: Protecting
the rights of a handful of players to get a premium salary from George
Steinbrenner; or protecting the rights of the tens of millions of fans who want
to feel that their teams have a chance, not only to make it to the post-season,
but also to retain some of their star players and not lose them to free agency?
Jones: That's a loaded question, huh?
OBC: Loaded questions are one of our specialties at OBC.
As soon as you answer this one, we'll move on to more of the tofu and soy bean
variety.
Jones: I don't think any player
would disagree that we want an even playing field. I think that the problem
that Mr. Steinbrenner and the other big market teams have with an unchecked
revenue-sharing program is that nothing within that program ensures that the
owners receiving the revenue will spend it on players. That is the whole
problem with this concept. Who is to say that the Rays and the Brewers will
spend all of this money on player salaries? The Rays' ownership has already
stated that a large amount of the revenues they will receive under this plan
will go into retiring debt. All this does is increase equity within the
organization, so that larger profits will be recognized come cash-out time. How
does this help fans?
 The
union recognized disparity in some of the teams financially. That is why we
agreed to do this deal. But I want to make it very clear that we do not want a
system like football, which may be okay for the fans and the owners filling
their pockets--with no incentive to get better--yet doesn't take into account
the increase in player movement and veteran players being released by teams
that they have given their careers to. We want a free market system that
promotes competitive balance, not competitive growth of equity in franchises.
That doesn't do the players or the fans any good.
 As fans, you should now hold your teams'
owners accountable for performance. This is what they wanted, but let's see if
it makes a difference in who is there come playoff time. I bet it doesn't,
because you will still have teams that are run badly, and you'll still have
George Steinbrenner and other owners who will do whatever it takes to put a
winning team on the field. Look at the A's, who have one of the lowest payrolls
around. They have done it with their farm system and a well-run organization.
The Yankees do it with Jeter, Posada, Williams, and others that have come up
through their system. Sure, money helps matters, but Mr. Steinbrenner will do
whatever it takes to win. That is what people don't see about him.
In
1990, if we talked about teams that were struggling and should be contracted,
you know who we would have been talking about? The Indians, the Mariners, and
the Braves. How about that? Varying degrees of management are responsible for
most of the successes and failures we see.
OBC: What's
your opinion of interleague play? Does it take some of the magic away from the
World Series, the only time in the past when NL and AL teams would face each
other? Is it just one more marketing trick that will ultimately make baseball
more like hockey, basketball, and football?
Jones: Interleague play was exciting for the fans and
definitely added some life to the sport at a time when I think it needed it,
but overall, I think the players prefer the more historical scheduling.
Interleague play involves some additional traveling, and we are facing teams
and pitchers that should really have no bearing on whether we win our division.
I don't see interleague becoming much more extensive than it already is. With
the unbalanced schedule that is in place today, along with playing the other
teams in our league, I just don't see how they could--or that they would--do
that.
OBC: Do you like the All-Star game in its current
format? Or would you rather play the game for real? When did it stop being
something that the players wanted to win and start being just a beauty pageant?
 Jones: I think
your question mischaracterizes how the players feel about the game. Believe me,
when the guys step on the field, they are playing the game for real. No player
who participates in that game doesn't want to win it, I assure you.
OBC: Do you think the guys in the dugout were disgusted
with the tie in Milwaukee? I know the fans were.
Jones: I certainly don't know one guy that liked the
outcome of the All-Star game this year. Anyone who doesn't think so, watch the
tape of the All-Star game in Boston and then question every player that wasn't
there with Ted Williams about whether they hated not being there. It is, and
will continue to be, an honor to be in that midsummer game.
Fantasy baseball
OBC: How do we
get more kids interested in baseball again? Is it as simple as playing more day
games? Or do we need to do things at the community level to rekindle the
interest not only of kids but of their families as well?
 Jones: I think it starts
with grassroots programs. Programs that MLB has started, like RBI, will help in
promoting the game. Accessibility is something that will help as well. But I'm
not sure we will ever see the level of attention that we had 30 years ago.
There is just too much else to do in this world today. The league and the
players work hard to bring kids out to the park. I sponsor programs that do
that, and I know other players do too. We are all trying to do our part, but
honestly, I believe the country has just changed.
OBC:
Who was your baseball hero growing up...the guy that you pretended to be when
daydreaming?
Jones: When I was younger, it
had to be my dad. After that, it was all the guys on the Dodgers in the late
70s and early 80s...like Cey, Garvey, Yeager, Valenzuela, Baker. As I got a
little older, Cal and Ozzie were the guys I looked up to and wanted to
emulate.
OBC: Let's pretend you never made it as a
big-leaguer. If it weren't for baseball, what do you think you'd be doing for a
living right now?
Jones: It is all I've
known since I was 18. It is the only "job" I've ever had as an adult. I was
going to major in Communications and try to do something with sports. I had a
scholarship to the University of Miami, signed a letter of intent, then got
drafted, so who knows? I am just thankful that I am playing a game that I love,
and that I have been given the talent to succeed. There is not a day that goes
by that doesn't bring a smile to my face. I know how very lucky I am, and I
will never forget that.
OBC: You're at the ballpark
after hours and you notice a beer bottle near third base that the
groundskeepers missed. Of course, you pick it up and walk toward the trash can
to dispose of it, but midstride you accidentally wipe the bottle against your
pant leg...and the baseball genie pops out of the bottle. He says he will grant
you three wishes for the game of baseball. What do you wish for?
Jones: Wow, that's a tough one. I guess the bottom line
is that the game of baseball is such a great, great game that I consider myself
very lucky to be paid to play a game I love and for which I have a passion. I
miss my family sometimes, and again, I don't enjoy the profanity-filled, family
heckling that you get out there that doesn't relate to the game.
 OBC: So your wishes are...?
Jones: I'm going to stay away from some of the
controversial issues with baseball and keep things light. How about one, a
machine that lets us go home instantaneously after any game, home or away; two,
a mute button on our uniforms that can zip up those unruly fans; and three, a
few more World Championships for the Braves.
OBC: Um,
the baseball genie says he'll let you have the first two.
Jones: A few more World Series wins would be nice,
too.
OBC: Okay, MAYBE if you end up playing the Yankees
again....
(Special thanks goes to B.B. Abbott of
Jet Sports Management for helping
make this interview possible.) |
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