Chipper jones first ballot hofer?

[Jlighter]

Also he is top 50 all time in WAR, just sayin.

[Touch'EmAll]

Was he a dominant power hitter leading the league many a season?

Was he a dominant Batting Average hitter leading the league many a season?

Was he a dominant fielder leading the league in fielding stats many a season?

Was he a dominant runner leading the league in steals many a season?

Was he a perennial All-Star appearing on 15 +/- All star teams as a starter?

I always thought, in my humble opinion, that a player needs to be dominant to merit first ballot.

A very solid, good player with leadership skills - YES! Like I said before, he can play on my team anytime. But back to the question if he is a FIRST ballot HOF'er, jeesh.

[Chris-Counts]

Yes, Chipper is a first ballot Hall of Famer as a THIRD BASEMAN. And no, you can't compare him to outfielders and first basemen. If you think that's a valid comparison, try fielding a team without a real shortstop, third baseman or catcher. Your team won't get very far.

By the way, there are half as many third baseman in the HOF than any other position. That proves the voters have know idea what a Hall of Fame third baseman looks like.

Based on his stats, Chipper is clearly a Top 5 all-time third baseman. How many third basemen can you name with a .300 career batting average. 400 career home runs, an MVP award, a batting title and a World Series championship?

[glchen]

In my opinion, I don't think Chipper is a first ballot HOFer. To me, a first ballot HOFer would mean that you are in the "inner" circle in the Hall of Fame. That is, you absolutely dominated the game. I don't think Chipper meets that critieria. In the modern era, it would be players like Jeter, Rivera, Pujols, Randy Johnson, and perhaps Pedro Martinez. I think Chipper is a good player who eventually deserves to get into the Hall, but not on the first ballot.

[CMIZ5290]

I think there has been some very good feedback, but another reason why i think he is in on first ballot is how well he is liked by the overall media. He is never a smart ass, and he is normally quick and cordial about giving interviews and answering questions. I know this has nothing to do about his numbers, but trust me when i say it will be a big factor. So many of these pro athletes are complete jerks, and give no respect to the fans and media.....

[drc]

My guess is he won't be a first balloter (which is one thing) and don't think he's first ballot worthy (which is another thing).

As time passes, being first or fifth year HOFer makes little to no difference. No one claims that Robin Yount is better than Joe DiMaggio. In the moment drama and scandal over who is first ballot and who isn't is manufactured ESPN crap. If you see an all-time team of players who weren't elected in the first ballot, you'd see how silly is the first ballot drama. DiMaggio, Anson, Foxx, Alexander could kick some some Tony Gwynn, Robin Yount, Nolan Ryan first ballot ass.

[Robextend]

It is almost impossible to compare to the criteria of "first ballot" regarding players from different generations...voting committees and the way they vote have changed. We can't keep comparing different eras without taking this into account.

Chipper was the dominant consistent force at 3B in his league for well over a decade putting up phenominal stats along the way and also keeping his name clean in a dirty era. First ballot all the way!

[BradH]

Maybe I’ve missed it, but I’m surprised no one has commented on Chipper as a switch hitter. He’ll end as one of the top 3 or 4 all time, and this is what sets him apart to me. His ranks among all-time switch hitters:

Average:
.304 – 2nd behind Frankie Frisch (Chipper ranks ahead of Rose, Mantle, Alomar, Murray, Schoendienst)

Home Runs:
468 – 3rd behind only Mantle and Murray

RBIs:
1,619 – 2nd behind Murray

Yes, the great and honest relationship with the media and staying with one team his whole career will help him, but his numbers as a switch hitter are what I hear as the number one reason among writers as to why they’ll vote for him in the first year.

A fun “Did you know” stat that has nothing to do with switch hitters: Chipper and Albert Pujols are the only two active players with at least 450 career home runs and who still have more career walks than strikeouts.

Originally Posted by 100backstroke

Was he a dominant runner leading the league in steals many a season?

100backstroke- Please don’t think this is a shot at your comment, because it isn’t, but your comment did remind me of something. I know you were referring to base stealing and I believe Chipper only had a couple 20-steal seasons, so he certainly wasn’t a league leader in that regard. However, Chipper has long been regarded as perhaps one of the best “base runners” in the National League. He was called “the best and smartest base runner I ever had” by Bobby Cox and others such as Tony LaRussa and Jim Leyland have offered similar sentiment over the years.

A quick story … I remember a game a few years ago when Chipper was at first base with two outs and on a hit to right field he stopped at second. Some questioned why he didn’t go ahead and take third on the play. The next batter got a hit and Chipper scored. Later in the game, with one out, he went from first to third on a hit to LEFT FIELD. The next batter hit a sac fly and the Braves beat the Cardinals by one run. After the game, Cards manager Tony La Russa said Chipper’s base running had made all the difference in the game. A young player would have likely done things in reverse of what Chipper did, but he was smart and knew when to take third and when not to.

I know guys don’t get in the Hall based on their base running, but in this little part of baseball that is usually overlooked, he’s clearly considered one of the best by those who play and manage against him.

[howard38]

,

[Chris-Counts]

Can somebody please explain to me what the criteria of a "first ballot" Hall of Famer is? Is this criteria any different from that of a "second ballot" Hall of Famer? And where exactly is this criteria written down?

It's my theory that all this nonsense about first ballot vs. second ballot-and-beyond is nothing but the invention of the voters, who just happen to be sports writers looking for something controversial to write or talk about — and some reason to place more importance on their roles in the process.

[Jlighter]

I believe the difference is that, if it's a first time player on the ballot, does he deserve to be voted ahead of players who while deserving have been waiting a few years. You also have to consider the players competition during the voting period. instead of just saying he's a first ballot

[HRBAKER]

Originally Posted by Chris Counts

Can somebody please explain to me what the criteria of a "first ballot" Hall of Famer is? Is this criteria any different from that of a "second ballot" Hall of Famer? And where exactly is this criteria written down?

It's my theory that all this nonsense about first ballot vs. second ballot-and-beyond is nothing but the invention of the voters, who just happen to be sports writers looking for something controversial to write or talk about — and some reason to place more importance on their roles in the process.

I agree, it's almost as crazy as arguing about what a "rookie" card is.
It's a purely artificial hobby or media construct that gives people something to talk about.

[chaddurbin]

Originally Posted by HRBAKER

I agree, it's almost as crazy as arguing about what a "rookie" card is.
It's a purely artificial hobby or media construct that gives people something to talk about.

sorry jeff, chipper's rc card is the 1991 ud and one of my favorite cards growing up...it's no myth!

imo chipper's a borderline 1st ballot. if he would've stayed at ss his whole career it would've been a slam-dunk no-contest no brainer. he's played mostly 3b and corner positions are expected to put up power numbers because it's not a primo up the middle pos. some pros i see he's been clean throughout this ped era and put up strong numbers (that goes a long way to the anti arod/bonds hof voters), and he's having a banner last year going out on top which will stick in voters' mind 5 years down the line. if he was struggling and washed up no way he would've had a shot at 1st ballot.

it's crazy to think chipper prolly got a better shot at 1st ballot than bonds???

[jp1216]

Chipper will be an easy in. First ballot - probably a 75% chance. One team helped. Thanks to the prior posts about Maris. Let's hope he will get in - in time...

[toppcat]

As a Mets fan I hate the guy but he is first ballot without a doubt.