Chipper Jones will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, on Sunday, July 29m 2018 (7/29/18) with Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, and former Detroit Tigers teammates Jack Morris and Alan Trammell. Thome and Jones are first-ballot selections, while Morris and Trammell were picked by a veterans committee in December.
Chipper Jones will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York on Sunday, July 29, 2018 (7/29/18) with Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, and former Detroit Tigers teammates Jack Morris and Alan Trammell. Thome and Jones are first-ballot selections, while Morris and Trammell were picked by a veterans committee in December.
What you need to know:
What: 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame inductions
When: Sunday, July 29, 2018
Where: Clark Sports Center, Cooperstown, N.Y.
Time: 1:30 p.m. Eastern
TV: MLB Network
Livestream: mlbnetwork
Jones, only the second overall No. 1 draft pick to reach the Hall (Ken Griffey Jr. is the other), couldn’t have arrived at a better time for the Braves, who were perennial cellar-dwellers in the NL West. He became a force on most of the Atlanta teams that did a quick about-face and won 14 straight division titles — and a World Series in his rookie season (1995).
Also part of those Atlanta teams were pitchers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz, manager Bobby Cox, and general manager John Schuerholz. All five were elected to the Hall of Fame in the past four years, and now Jones will join them.
“Somebody had to score some runs for that pitching staff,” Jones said with a chuckle. “It’s nice the day has finally come.”
Thome hit 612 home runs, eighth all-time, and had an MLB record 13 walk-off homers, mostly for the Cleveland Indians. When he toured the Hall of Fame in late February to prepare for induction day, Thome got misty when he walked into the Plaque Gallery where his bronze likeness will hang after Sunday’s ceremony.
Expect more of the same when he stares out at the big crowd during his speech.
“It’s been an absolute dream,” Thome said. “I try to keep that (life) pretty simple, but it’s been very special to enjoy this with the ones you really care about and the people that are … happy for you. That means so much.
“To go there and now call that home is just incredible.”
Hoffman, chosen in his third year on the ballot, played the bulk of his career with the San Diego Padres before finishing with the Milwaukee Brewers. After failing to impress the front office in three years as a shortstop, he switched to the bullpen and became a star. Using a stultifying changeup, Hoffman recorded 601 saves over 18 seasons, second all-time to former Yankees star Mariano Rivera’s 652.
Guerrero was elected on his second try, receiving 92.9 percent of the vote. The nine-time All-Star outfielder batted .318 with 449 homers and 1,496 RBIs and was a notorious bad-ball hitter , a skill he learned as a kid growing up in the Dominican Republic playing a game similar to cricket.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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