Is This Your Retirement, Larry?

Earlier today, Chipper Jones announced that he will be retiring at the end of the season after almost two decades spent entirely with the Atlanta Braves.  Jones will retire as one of the Braves’ all-time greatest players, finishing in the top three in many of the team's offensive categories (along with Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews).  He will also end his career as one of the best switch-hitters in baseball history, joining other greats such as Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray and Pete Rose.

Chipper Jones was like Norm from Cheers, with every fan at Shea Stadium and Citi Field saying his first name in unison as he strolled into the batter's box.  But unlike Norm, whenever Jones heard his name, it wasn't usually in adulation.

When the Braves and Mets competed for National League supremacy in 1999 and 2000, it was Jones who repeatedly delivered in the clutch, keeping the Mets from ending the Braves’ reign atop the division.  By then, he was already known as “La-a-a-a-a-arry” to the Shea faithful, similar to the way Darryl Strawberry was known as “Da-a-a-a-a-arryl” to Red Sox fans during the 1986 World Series.  Of course, Strawberry got the last laugh, hitting a towering home run off Red Sox reliever Al Nipper in Game 7.  Chipper Jones usually hushed the crowd as well with his ability to come through in the clutch.

And what a clutch hitter he was against the Mets.  In 812 career at-bats versus New York, Jones hit .318 with 44 doubles, 48 HR and 154 RBI.  Only Hall of Famers Willie Stargell (60) and Mike Schmidt (49) hit more career home runs against the Mets than Chipper Jones.

But Jones wasn’t just a great hitter when the Mets were in the other dugout.  He was an equal opportunity slugger, especially within his own division.  Take a look at his stats against the other teams in the National League East:

• vs. Marlins: .299, 45 doubles, 40 HR, 161 RBI in 834 at-bats.
• vs. Phillies: .332, 68 doubles, 46 HR, 144 RBI in 797 at-bats.
• vs. Expos/Nats: .298, 60 doubles, 40 HR, 154 RBI in 905 at-bats.

Through 2011, Jones has hit at least 40 doubles, 40 HR and picked up 140 RBI against every team in the National League East, numbers that will only rise as he plays his final year in the major leagues.  Despite his inability to stay on the field because of various injuries throughout the latter part of his career, he still managed to win a batting title in 2008, hitting an impressive .364 at age 36.

Over the years, Mets fans at Shea Stadium and Citi Field would shower Chipper Jones with boos and remind him of his given name whenever he stepped up to the plate.  But did they really hate Chipper Jones or was it just a masked sign of respect for a great player?

Admit it.  You've booed Chipper Jones, but you would have loved to see him in a Mets uniform.

Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino also get pooped on by the boo birds whenever they come to New York.  But all three of them brought it upon themselves by not being able to keep their mouths shut.  Cole Hamels may have been the biggest offender of Mets fans when he famously claimed that the Mets were choke artists.  In fact, his mouth is so big, he could insert Shaquille O’Neal's foot in it and it still wouldn’t shut him up.  Those players are players Mets fans genuinely hate.  There’s no respect in those boos.

But Chipper Jones is different.  He never guaranteed anything even when the Braves were racking up division titles faster than the current Mets rack up injuries.  He also never disrespected a fan base like Hamels or his former teammate, John Rocker, did.  In fact, Jones loved playing in New York so much, he named his son Shea.

Why was Chipper Jones booed so much in New York?  Because he was good.  Really good.  For a very long time.

Larry did his homework on the Mets, which is why he was so great against them for nearly two decades.  But he didn’t just pick on the Mets; he picked apart opposing pitchers all over the National League.  When the Braves make their final appearance at Citi Field this year on September 9, Mets fans should put aside their negative feelings and give Chipper Jones a standing ovation.  After so many years booing him, it’s time to recognize that he was one of the best players of his generation.  Jones is a certain first ballot Hall of Famer who, like Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn, played his entire career with one team.  Only special players get to do that.  Chipper Jones has been a special player.

When the 2012 season comes to a close, Chipper Jones will be retiring from baseball.  Ask any Mets fan how they feel about the news and they’ll say they won’t be at a loss, which shouldn’t be surprising.  Why not?  Because when the game was on the line, the man they called “La-a-a-a-a-arry” usually had their favorite team at a loss.  It’s no wonder Mets fans will probably enjoy Chipper Jones’ retirement more than Chipper himself.

Two Ways For Mets Fans To Remember This September

September has rolled around and the Mets will almost certainly be left out of the postseason party. Going into the final month of the season, the Mets find themselves 22 games behind the first place Phillies and 14½ games behind the wild card-leading Braves.



But although October is only a rumor at Citi Field, there are two events that are still visible on the horizon for the Mets and their fans - a winning season and a batting title for Jose Reyes.



The Mets have a 65-69 record as they begin play in the month of September. Although the climb back to (and hopefully over) .500 could be daunting, it's not an impossible task. In fact, the Mets have twice before entered September with a losing record, only to turn things around and finish of the bright side of .500 at season's end.



In 2001, the Mets began the month of September with a 64-71 record, seemingly out of contention in the NL East after winning the National League pennant the year before. But an 18-9 mark in September and October (the season was pushed back a week due to the tragic events of 9/11) kept Mets fans hopes up and more importantly, gave them a winning record for the season (82-80).



Similarly, the 1973 Mets appeared to be going nowhere fast in the NL East. With a 62-71 record after their final game in August, the Mets were on a one-way ticket to disappointment just one year after finishing ten games above .500. But all it took was a little "ya gotta believe" and a 20-8 mark in September and October, and the Mets found themselves in the playoffs (albeit with an 82-79 record), finishing one win short of their second World Series championship.



Both the 1973 Mets and the 2001 Mets were more games below .500 entering September than this year's model. A 17-11 record this month would make the 2011 Mets the third team in franchise history to achieve this feat.



Now, let's talk about Jose Reyes and his personal quest to become the team's first batting champion.



Entering September, Reyes was leading the National League with a .336 mark, just slightly ahead of Milwaukee's Ryan Braun and his .333 average. However, Braun went 1-for-5 in his first September game (a day game against the Cardinals this afternoon), lowering his batting average to .331.



Prior to this season, only three Mets players had ever finished within ten points of the batting title. Cleon Jones (.340) finished eight points behind Pete Rose (.348) in the 1969 National League batting race, with Roberto Clemente (.345) sandwiched between them. Dave Magadan (.328) finished seven points behind 1990 NL batting champion Willie McGee, with Eddie Murray's .330 average sliding in between the two. Finally, in 1998, John Olerud became the first Met to finish second in the league in batting, with his franchise-record .354 average. (Larry Walker finished nine percentage points ahead of Olerud with his .363 batting average.)



Of the above batting title contenders for the Mets, only John Olerud entered the month of September with the lead in the batting race. Prior to the games of September 1, 1998, Olerud's .344 mark was two points higher than Walker's .342. But an 0-for-3 performance by Olerud coupled with a 2-for-3 game by Walker on the month's first night caused a shift in the race, with Walker taking a two-point lead over Olerud (.344 to .342). Olerud retook the lead the following night, but Walker took it back on September 3 and never gave it up for the rest of the season, hitting .640 (16-for-25) from the 3rd to the 12th of September. Even Olerud's .621 average (18-for-29) over his final ten games wasn't enough to help him claim the franchise's first batting title.



Editor's note: In 1969, Cleon Jones was hitting .351 going into September, eight percentage points ahead of eventual batting champion Pete Rose (.343). But Roberto Clemente was the league leader in batting with a .354 mark on the morning of September 1, 1969.



In 1990, Willie McGee's batting average was frozen when he was traded from the Cardinals to the Oakland A's. Since he did not bat again in the National League following his trade, his .335 mark at the time of the trade remained intact. Dave Magadan's batting average never reached McGee's mark in September, peaking at .333 on September 5.







If Jose Reyes can keep his lead in the batting race past September 3, he will be the first Mets player ever to lead the league in batting that late in the season. Of course, should he manage to hold off Ryan Braun, he would become the team's first batting champion in their 50-year history.



So what if the Mets aren't even in the Phillies' and Braves' rear view mirror? There are still two reasons to root for the boys in orange and blue (especially if they wear those sweet "Los Mets" alternate jerseys). The Mets can finish with their first winning mark since the days of Shea Stadium and Jose Reyes can finally provide an answer to the decades-old question, "what will happen first, a Mets' no-hitter or a Mets' batting champion?".



Instead of thinking that there's only one month left to the off-season, think that there's one more exciting month of baseball to be played at Citi Field, a month that could give Mets fans a winning attitude and an unprecedented individual achievement for one of their heroes. You gotta believe, right?

Mike Francesa And The Case of Roberto Alomar vs. Craig Biggio

Earlier this afternoon on WFAN, Mike Francesa was talking about the Hall of Fame vote when a caller asked him about his opinion on Craig Biggio's chances to get into Cooperstown now that Roberto Alomar was elected. To my surprise (and the caller as well), Francesa said that Biggio should not be elected into the Hall of Fame.

The caller vociferously disagreed with Francesa's statement that Alomar was superior to Biggio in every way, leading Mike to huff and puff and blow the caller's opinion down.

Between every other sentence ending with "Alomar hit 20-something points higher than Biggio" (despite the fact that Robbie's career batting average was .300 as opposed to Biggio's .281, a difference of 19 points on every planet not inhabited by Francesa), Francesa went on to toss random stats on why Alomar was far better than Biggio and why Biggio is not a Hall of Famer. He said:

• Alomar won 10 Gold Glove Awards to Biggio's four.
• Alomar made 12 All-Star teams to Biggio's seven.
• In Alomar's best season, he drove in 120 runs; Biggio's career-high was 88.
• Alomar hit .313 in 58 postseason games; Biggio hit .234 in 40 playoff games.

Okay, I'll give Francesa the benefit of the doubt on the last comparison. Alomar was a better postseason player than Biggio. As a result, his teams were better. Alomar won two World Series and played in the League Championship Series five times. Biggio, on the other hand, didn't even make it to the NLCS until his 17th season in the majors. Overall, he appeared in two League Championship Series and one World Series (losing to the White Sox in 2005).

But the caller was not trying to argue that Biggio was better than Alomar. Rather, he was merely attempting to say that Biggio should join Alomar in the Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible to do so in 2013.

All Francesa did was run down the list of categories that Alomar was better in. Not once did he look at the stats that Biggio was better than Alomar in. In addition, he made no consideration of certain variables that would bring down Biggio's numbers.

For example, when Francesa mentioned that Alomar drove in 120 runs in his best season (1999), he did not say that Robbie was Cleveland's #3 hitter that year (149 starts in the three-hole). The year Biggio drove in 88 runs (1998), he was the Astros' leadoff hitter in 155 games. Many hitters drive in 120 runs or more hitting third in the batting order. Not too many hitters can drive in as many as 88 runs batting leadoff. In addition, Biggio was hitting directly behind the pitcher for most of his career, while Alomar played the majority of his career in the American League, where everyday players bat in the ninth spot.

Craig Biggio played in 2,850 games over his major league career. He was the Astros' leadoff hitter 1,564 times and their #2 hitter 754 times. That's over 2,300 games batting in a spot in the order where you're not expected to be an RBI guy. Yet Biggio found a way to drive in 1,175 runs over his major league career, which Francesa failed to mention was MORE THAN the 1,134 runs Roberto Alomar drove in over his career. Oh yeah, both Alomar and Biggio started their careers in 1988 so they perfectly overlapped each other.



What else did Francesa overlook while he was pounding his chest over Alomar's superiority to Biggio? Let's consider these five items:

1) Biggio scored 1,844 runs in his career to Alomar's 1,508. Only 12 men in baseball history have scored more runs than Biggio. All of them are in the Hall of Fame except for Pete Rose, who is ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration. By contrast, Johnny Damon has scored more runs (1,564) than Roberto Alomar and I don't think the Hall is going to be calling Damon five years after he retires.

2) Craig Biggio hit 668 doubles in his career, while Alomar hit 504. It is true that Alomar is one of only 51 men to ever surpass the 500 double plateau, but Biggio's total is fifth on the all-time list, surpassed only by Tris Speaker, Pete Rose, Stan Musial and Ty Cobb. If they sound like Hall of Famers, that's because they are (except for the man who liked the horsetrack a little too much).

3) Biggio hit 291 HR as opposed to Alomar's 210. Whereas Alomar only had three seasons of 20+ HR, Biggio produced eight such seasons. In fact, Biggio had as many 20+ HR seasons after his 38th birthday (three) as Alomar had in his entire career.

4) For as great a hitter as Alomar was, he only won four Silver Slugger Awards over his career. Biggio did him one better by winning five. Maybe Biggio's extra Silver Slugger Award had something to do with the fact that he picked up over 1,000 extra-base hits over his career (1,014 to be exact) compared to Alomar's 794.

5) Alomar's career fizzled out after he was 33. Once he turned 33, he only hit .262, with 58 doubles, 20 HR, 116 RBI, 167 runs scored and 28 stolen bases. After Biggio turned 33, he hit .266, but had 279 doubles, 139 HR, 469 RBI, 724 runs scored and 68 stolen bases. Biggio actually started driving the ball more as an elder statesman than as a spry youngster.


Now let's stop comparing the two and just focus on Biggio. Tell me these numbers aren't Hall of Fame-worthy...

.281 batting average, 1,844 runs scored, 414 stolen bases, 668 doubles, 55 triples, 291 HR, 1,175 RBI (mostly as a leadoff hitter, which by the way, was the position in the order Rickey Henderson batted out of. Henderson had 1,115 RBI despite the fact that he played five more seasons than Craig Biggio.)

I feel like I'm forgetting something. Something's missing up there that would shut Mike Francesa up regarding his anti-Craig Biggio shpiel. Ah, yes. Now I remember. Come closer to your screen so that you can't miss it.

CRAIG BIGGIO HAD 3,060 HITS!!

The last time I checked, if you had 3,000 hits, you were going to the Hall of Fame, assuming that you weren't on the permanently banned list (you're such a dummy, Pete Rose) or tested positive for steroids. (Don't point your finger at me, Rafael Palmeiro. You know I'm talking to you.)


Alomar didn't make it to 3,000 hits, calling it a career after picking up 2,724 safeties. Even if Mike Francesa ignored all of the other statistics, surely the 3,000+ hits for a non-gambling, non-PED using Biggio would have been enough to make him change his mind on his Hall of Fame candidacy.

But alas, we're talking about Mike Francesa here. Whatever he says is gospel. Who are we to disagree with him? He's the one with the radio show. We're just little ol' sports fans.

Be thankful he's not in charge of the Hall of Fame Committee. If he was, Craig Biggio would have to pay his way to Cooperstown to see all the players he should be enshrined with.