Chipper Jones inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame

all my friends have been telling me for the last week or so relax take a deep breath you'll do just fine my reply you stand up here in front of 40 or 50,000 people and six-year your favor hey you know baseball players sitting behind you let me know how you do we'd like to thank the baseball writers for this incredible honor I also want to thank Jane Forbes Clark Jeff Idol son and the entire Hall of Fame staff since we got the call in January done nothing to make this the most unbelievable experience for the Jones family and we thank you I want to start by congratulating each of the guys I'm being inducted with today Jack Morris one of the best big-game pictures that I've ever seen is we found out in Atlanta watching us multi-pitch Game seven 1991 World Series tram coming up as a shortstop it was nothing better than watching you as sweet Lou Whitaker turned that double play up in Detroit I'm sure the city of Detroit is beaming with pride today upon yours and Jack's induction glad I'm not sure you ever saw a pitch you didn't like but man you always seem to put it in play hard somewhere you've been an inspiration to all Latin players and it was a pleasure to watch you roam right field brother Trevor Hoffman hated facing you bro hated you had the most devastating changeup I've ever seen in my life I've been a great ambassador for the city of San Diego and baseball in general congratulations Jim told me I gotta I gotta tell the story one more time old buddy first time I met Jim 1993 Richmond Virginia Ryan Klesko walks off a Homer as he usually did Charlie Manuel didn't like that too much Nate then him brought in to close her first pitch behind Klesko here we go nice little Donnybrook there at the diamond in Richmond Virginia so I go diving into the pile next thing I know what can only be described as the hand of God grabs me around the throat pins me up to the backstop netting all I can hear is don't move so thinking God had me by around and around the neck naturally I obliged I did manage to glance up and see my mother and father in the third row mom's eyes about this big JT whispered in my ear he said you're done I said yes sir I'm done we've been buddies ever since I'm glad I'm here sharing this day with you buddy you know every person on this stage has had a group of people who believed in them from the start whether it was before they had achieved much in baseball yet or whether they just needed a little extra kick in the butt that person that believed in them when a game or life had humbled them and had them down those are the people I want to thank here today because they are the ones responsible for me being on this stage you all made this possible for me it all started in little town of Pearson Florida I was just a country kid from a town with two caution lights the self-proclaimed fern capital of the world how do I of all people and appear on a stage with these iconic players my childhood heroes the best players in baseball history I think for me it came down to being focused on a goal never losing sight of that goal and being surrounded by people who believed in me that belief started at home my dad was a high school teacher and a coach my mom a professional equestrian pops was a huge Mickey Mantle fan he started challenging me me to hit left-handed when I was only seven years old that now we'll watch the Saturday game of the week then after who was over head out into the backyard with a piece of PVC pipe and it's in his ball his favorite team was the Baltimore Orioles me I was a die-hard Dodger we go in the backyard we mimic the lineups Reggie Smith came up to bat had to hit left-handed same with Kenny land row I'm Mike Scioscia pretty soon I took it as a challenge I started stacking my lineup with lefties I loved it little did I know my dad was planting the seeds of belief even back then I'm molding me into the switch-hitter like his idol Mickey the rest of Pearson was a big extended family for me it wasn't just raised by my parents I was raised by the Hagstrom the habits the other Jones is in Pearson and my godfather Pete Dunn who was the head baseball coach at Stetson University for nearly 40 years you all taught me discipline respect and the value of hard work without even knowing it you taught me to believe that a kid from Pearson Florida could make it I wouldn't be here without you thank you so much when my parents made the tough decision entering my 10th grade year to send me to a boarding school two hours away I learned how to stand on my own two feet at the bowl school there are a whole host of lifelong friends and families that touched my life and two men in particular were instrumental in making my dream come true my football coach and dorm advisor Charles Edwards and my baseball coach Don Soriano thank you both for all you and your families did for me Thank You coach Siriano for teaching me to believe that I could play the game at a new level Thank You coach Edwards for helping me realize I can make it on my own and thank you to all my bulls family and friends for giving me a home away from home and thank you for being here today coming out of bowls the Atlanta Braves did me the distinct honor of John me number one overall in the 1990 draft I properly went into rookie ball and got overmatched pretty badly it was the first time I'd ever really struggled in the game of baseball after the season in structure ball I met I got the chance to meet hall-of-famer Willie Stargell and it could not have come at a better time for me Pop's was a rowing instructor for the Braves back then he walked up to me and he picked up my bat said to me son I picked my teeth with bigger pieces of wood than this he also suggested that I swing the biggest bat I could get around on 90 miles an hour start letting a pitcher supply all the power he looked me dead in the eye and he said we'll have you hitting 30 homers in no time I thought he was crazy but I'll be damned if he wasn't right I swung that heavy bat until the day I retired to him Frank Howard Glenn Hubbard Grady little and all my minor-league coaches thank you for helping me believe that my could be realized for years after being drafted after a couple pretty good minor-league seasons I came to camp in 1994 on the cusp of making the big league roster but it wasn't to be two weeks before opening day I blew out my left knee there were no guarantees that I would ever be the same player again in those days you just didn't know but one man never stopped believing in me never that man Bobby Cox Bobby you believed in me before I truly believed I belong didn't biggley's and on opening day 1995 Bobby put me into three whole in front of Fred McGriff and David Justice you knew hitting me in front of those two dudes would give me a lot of fast balls and it works thanks to you the big guys around me on the in the lineup and our vaunted pitching staff we won the World Series in 1995 sorry Jim Bobby next to my parents you have the biggest influence on my career of anybody thank you for drafting me thank you for never hesitating to put the bat in my hands with the game on the line and thank you for never hesitating to believe in me not only did you always still confidence in me when I needed it the most you made our entire organization believe year after year during our 14-year run of division titles I'm pretty sure I speak for everyone who donned a Braves uniform during your tenure I'm so glad you were the man leading us on the field every night thank you skip we love you no team has ever built on the field alone John sure horse John sure halts our general manager it's still the same kind of belief throughout our organization that Bobby did on the field and he showed me the kind of trust you don't often see between player and general manager he kept the lines of communication open and not once did he let me get to a spring training of a free agent year without an extension in place John thank you for giving me the opportunity to play my entire career in one uniform playing in Atlanta from start fish from start to finish is something I'll always be proud of and grateful for and without the relationship you and I established it wouldn't have been possible thank you you're a Hall of Fame GM and a class act Bobby and John always made sure we had great mentors in the Braves clubhouse and I wanted to thank several of mine today Terry Pendleton fellow third baseman switch-hitter MVP and the cosna pro Homer I take this man for teaching me how to lead by example thank you to Fred McGriff and David Justice our four and five hitters taught me so much about studying pitchers setting up pitchers teaching me how to hit the ball from foul pole to foul pole everyone has that one hitting coach in their career that they just kind of clicked with for me it was the late great Don Baylor I only got one year with Don in 1999 we had a little sit-down in spring training and he convinced me that I could be just as powerful from the right side as I was from the left side all we did that year was go out and win the National League MVP in 1999 Ruth I miss you buddy not a day goes by that I don't miss our rigorous cage assistance I would not be standing here if not for my teammates and all the winning we did with the Braves that starts with the big three Greg Maddux while being the king of the practical joke most of which I cannot recite in front of all these kids today was to me the greatest picture of our era I can't tell you how fun it was to watch you carve up a lineup every fifth day dog tom glavine epitomized toughness pitched on guts down there's nobody more fitting to have on the mound for our crowning moment 1995 than him and contrary to what you hear glad does smile every once in a while look take a picture might not see it again and then there's John Smoltz smokes smokes he always piss like his hair was on fire makes sense looking at him now as in Atlanta brave I'd like to apologize for the whole wig thing a couple years ago that was well that was embarrassing seriously those most he's a tremendous athlete he can do anything he sets his mind to whether it's starting closing or even making the u.s. senior opening golf sup about 85 in the first round though there's nobody we wanted to have have the ball in a big game more than smallsy the brighter the lights the better John Smoltz was it was a pleasure to play behind the three of you and it's an honor to join you Bobby and John here in Cooperstown the onus of the offense had to fall on somebody next to myself Andruw Jones drew I hope you'd be joining us here soon nobody played a better centerfield than you you got 10 Gold Gloves to back it up for a lot of years pitchers had to go through the Jones boys and the three and four holes to beat us and we took a lot of pride in that true I am so proud to call you my brother from another mother my support system off the field was just as important to me as the one I had on these people helped me be a better dad husband and son as an only child that was so important to me BB Abbott is as close to a brother as I'll ever get he's my next-door neighbor and Pearson we were inseparable from the time he was five and I was three whether we were following our dads around to hunt fish or we were playing whatever sport was in season we dreamed of playing in the major leagues together while it didn't work out that way BB is still one of my best friends and since the year 2000 he's also been my agent I couldn't be prouder of the work he's done with Jett Sports Management out of Tampa Florida BB there's nobody I trust more with my money my family or my future thank you for always being there brother I didn't meet my wife Taylor until I was 40 years old playing my last year with the Braves in 2012 but she changed my life forever took me 40 years of some major imperfections in me along the way to find my true perfection now we've taken our two families blended them together and has given me what I've been searching for my entire life true happiness lasts six years and the best six years of my life say you made me believe in love again you've changed me forever I thank God for you every day you will always be the queen of my castle and I will spend the rest of my life trying to be the king of yours I love you bill Taylor is due any minute with our second boy we decided to name him Cooper in honor of this occasion Cooper will give us seven boys all together joining Cooper Matthew Trey Shay Tristan Bryson and rich I love you all you're about pride and joy I want you to step away from my shadow blaze your own Trail and whatever you're passionate about believe in what you do love whatever you do and know that I love you unconditionally and we'll support you in whatever path you choose the fact that I'm standing here today is a testament to what you can do when you have parents who believe in you inspire you to believe in yourself mom dad you are the single biggest reason why I'm on this stage in fact you're all my reasons congratulations on just celebrating your 48th wedding anniversary I simply could not have imagined a better support team to grow up with dad you never stopped being my head coach my sounding board my golf partner and my best friend mom from day one you've been my rock my biggest fan you taught me how to be mentally tough and there's not one person in the world that taught me to believe in myself more than you did not a day goes by that I'm not thankful for all both of you have done I love you both beyond words I have one regret this weekend dad and it's there Mickey Mantle could not be here so that you can meet him I got to meet Mickey one time was 1992 I had just finished up my double-a season and we did a card show together in Atlanta Georgia I was so nervous to meet him I found myself practicing in the mirror how I was gonna meet him in X take a mint nice to meet you mr. mantel when the time came for me to to meet him completely tongue-tied nothing came out luckily I was eventually able to carry on a conversation with him and at one point after half hours sitting sitting there and watching grown men grown women cry fawn over meeting this man I got up enough courage to ask him this question I said Mick you ever get tired of this he gave me a little chuckle he looked at me he said chipper I have a recurring dream he said I'm standing at the pearly gates I must have had a pretty worried look on my face because God walked up look look me up and down for about 15 seconds and he said don't worry Matt I'm gonna let you in but can you sign these dozen baseball's first and now I understand a little bit of what Mickey went through on a daily basis I've never considered myself to be in the same realm as Mickey Hank Clemente Cowell and the other greats on this stage these guys they're baseball royalty but I know none of us would have had the privilege of playing this game or receiving these accolades without people in the stands believing in us for me that's Braves country Lanta Braves fans showed me almost every night what it meant to believe in something unconditionally I want to thank Braves fans that are here today and the ones who are back home as a player traveling is the hardest thing to do being away from our families and our fans but with you whether we were in st. Louis Colorado we're here in New York when I stepped out of the dugout for batting practice and saw brace race fans ten deep sometimes stretched down to the foul pole you made us feel like we never left home you are the fans I imagined in my head playing in the backyard all those years ago you're why I love coming to the plate with the game on the line crazy train blaring in the background and why I wanted so badly to come through for you you believed in me since I was 18 year old kid and you were still there for me during my swan song in 2012 you cheer me on through the career highs you stuck by me through life's lows I will never forget that you're the reason I never wanted to play anywhere else I couldn't be prouder to go into the Hall of Fame today with in Atlanta a on my cap I love you guys thank you [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: MLB

Views: 77,541

Keywords: Atlanta Braves, Major League, Hall Of Fame, Major League Baseball, Baseball, Chipper Jones, MLB, Classic, MLB Vault

Id: kvv0V8umNhU

Length: 20min 8sec (1208 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 29 2018