So I'm sitting here watching the first ever 'Wild Card Postseason' game (as opposed to a tie-breaking play-off) between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Atlanta Braves. A huge deal has been made about Chipper Jones, Atlanta's long-time switch-hitting third baseman, because he's retiring at the end of this season. My opinion of Chipper is not a crucial element in this post, regardless of the fact that I see him as a cocky redneck. There is no denying the talent this man possesses, the great numbers he has posted through his career, and several other things he has accomplished. During a break in the action, one of the commentators went ahead and inspired me with what I believe to be a poorly thought out comment. He said that Chipper Jones IS the greatest switch-hitter of all time. I'll gladly delve into this just a little bit, because I don't know that you can even begin to argue against Mickey Mantle.
Career Statistics
(Stats in bold mean they have the better numbers between the two players)
Chipper Jones
- .303 Avg.
- 2,726 Hits
- 468 Home Runs
- 1,623 RBI
- 1,619 Runs
- 150 Stolen Bases
- .957 Fielding %
- 8 time All Star
- 1999 NL MVP
- 1995 World Series Champion
Mickey Mantle
- .298 Avg.
- 2,415 Hits
- 536 Home Runs
- 1,509 RBI
- 1,676 Runs
- 153 Stolen Bases
- .985 Fielding %
- 16 time All Star
- 3 time AL MVP ('56, '57, '62)
- 7 time World Series Champion ('51, '52, '53, '56, '58, '61, '62)
The batting numbers range close in comparison, but the career achievements are staggeringly lopsided. Let's get some obvious factors out there for consideration:
- You can't win a World Series by yourself. It requires the efforts of an entire team to successfully come away with that trophy.
- There were fewer teams in the 'pool' for All Star games, but there is no doubt in my mind that Mantle was worthy of it each and every time.
- They played in two completely different eras, facing different caliber pitchers, different ballparks, different conditions...just different.
Mickey only fell short by .005 on average while showing a clear advantage on hitting for power. Then there are the intangibles like playing through severe, debilitating injuries that Chipper never experienced. He is the all time leader in several World Series categories alone, such as home runs, RBI, runs, walks and total bases, which means he came through when his team needed him to the most. Chipper didn't have bad postseason numbers by any means, but they paled in comparison to Mantle's tendency to be clutch. Chipper had him beat on postseason average, but the power and run production are all Mickey's.
I could go on and on about this, but at a certain point, it's only going to sound biased since I'm a Yankee fan and really enjoyed the two times the Bombers disappointed Chipper and his Braves. If you need further evidence to decide for yourselves, here are a couple of links to sort through.
Go Yankees!
D.
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