The Atlanta Braves will retire No. 10 on June 28 as Chipper Jones is officially retiring and reporting to Training Camp as a mentor and coach. There is nobody in the Braves' future who can mean as much as Jones did to the Braves, therefore, nobody will ever get to wear No. 10 in the franchise's career.
Jones is forever in the Braves books and the Atlanta fans. In an age where money buys loyalty all around sports, Jones stuck with the Braves through his 19-year career.
Of course, when Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine are the aces of your team's staff, success is no surprise, but Jones was the face behind the offense that gave run support to these pitchers. Not only is Jones a great Brave, but he's one of the Top 10 third basemen to play the game. So it's no surprise that he means so much to the franchise.
"Chipper was a Brave from the beginning to the end of his career and his legacy will forever live in our record books," Braves president John Schuerholz said. Schuerholz was the Braves general manager for a good portion of Jones' career with the Braves. "There is no greater honor that we can bestow upon him than to induct him into our Hall of Fame and retire his iconic number 10."
Jones, as humble as always, was honored by the Braves acknowledgement of his Hall of Fame career. "You always dream about that kind of stuff," Jones said. "When it actually comes true, there is just this wave that comes over you of disbelief. There's kind of a reflection of, 'Where has it all gone?' It all happened so quick. It was 19 years, and it seems like now it went by in a flash."
In 2012, Jones had a bit of a mercurial year. He saw limited time, but made things happen when in the lineup, especially late in the game. Jones hit two walk-offs against the rival Philadelphia Phillies. He looked as young as ever celebrating with teammates and suddenly, Jones did not resemble a man about to retire from the game who had undergone multiple knee surgeries in his career.
When the game mattered most, however, Jones play didn't help the cause. He came up with a major error against the St. Louis Cardinals that led to a big inning in the N.L. Wild Card Game.
While this might still be heavily present in Braves fans' minds, Jones career meant much more than that and he supplied Atlanta with many more memories throughout his career.
Also worth noting, maybe the Mets should retire Jones' number as he feasted off New York throughout his career.
Jones wrapped up his 19-year career with 468 home runs, 1,623 RBI, .303 batting average, .401 OBP, eight All-Star Game appearances, 1995 World Series Champion, 1999 N.L. MVP and 2008 N.L. Batting Champion.
That is a resume many are envious of. The Arizona Diamondbacks will be facing the Braves on June 28, the day of the jersey's retirement.
