Don't Call It a Comeback: Chipper Jones in '08

As careers progress and players go from young and full of potential to old and used up, performance is supposed to decrease, right? Well do not tell Chipper Jones that, after 14 years in the majors Chipper put up one of the best seasons of his career in 2008. 

The '08 season saw Jones bring the thunder at the plate swinging for a .364 batting average. He easily eclipsed his previous best of .337 set the year before. The mark was good enough to win Chipper the Batting Champ award for the National League as well as the entire MLB.

The season also brought Jones a career high on-base percentage of .470 giving him one of the highest averages in the league.

Chipper's 22 home runs helped to extend his streak of 20 or more home runs in a season to 14 consecutive seasons. One of the home runs will go down in the history books as the first to be sent beyond the wall at Nationals Park.

However, things were not all awards and accolades for Jones in 2008. Prior to the season there were still doubts of his abilities and concerns about his health. Jones had been seeing fewer games since the 2003 season as the once young prospect entered his 30's.

Chipper's numbers also began to decline as he drifted from a .330 batting average in the 2001 season all the way to .248 in 2004. Things were not looking good for the life long Atlanta Brave and his as well as the club's future were shaky.

Just as Chipper was finding struggles at the plate, the Braves were struggling in the National League Division Series unable to fight their way beyond the series. 

Though soon things would start to turn around for Jones as his numbers began to take an upswing in 2005. In 2006 Chipper's average would once again return north of .300 for the first time in three seasons. 

Jones would not be out of hot water just yet however. Critics continued to wonder if the switch hitter, now in his mid-30's, would be able to keep the upswing going. Despite milestones being crossed off his list over the '06 and '07 seasons, injuries continued to be a factor for Jones.

Though by the time the '08 season was in the books, Chipper had managed to silence many of his critics. Some injury problems still occurred though Jones managed to keep from being sidelined for extended periods of time.

Jones finished the season having been named a starter to the All-Star team, and hit over .400 in the month of April. The Atlanta third baseman finished one point shy of tying Mickey Mantel's single season batting average for switch hitters of .365. Chipper also eclipsed the 400 home run mark during the 2008 baseball season.

At the end of the season Chipper Jones proved you do not need to turn back time because it does not really matter.