Atlanta Braves: The Summer of Chipper

It happens every April.

A collection of big-league hitters start the season red hot, posting ridiculous batting averages in the .400-range. Another collection of slumps through the initial month and suffers the shame of seeing an average like .108 on the stadium scoreboard when they come to the plate.

In both cases, things usually return to normal by the end of May.

This season there is one major exception; Braves third baseman Chipper Jones.

Jones, who turned 36 in April, had an outstanding first month hitting .410. Rather than return to earth, he posted a .417 May to start the month of June hitting and unbelievable .413.

Taking a .400 batting average into June is notable, but several players have accomplished the feat in recent years, most dipping below the magic mark at some point in the first two weeks of the month.

Chipper didn't seem to be an exception when he took an 0 for 4 against Cincinnati June 1st. But a torrid 11 for 19 stretch since has the 1999 National League's Most Valuable Player hitting .420, more than a week into the month.

So how likely is Chipper to finish the year as the first player since Ted Williams amazing season 67 years ago, to hit four-oh-oh?

Let’s say Jones gets about 300 more at-bats, which would put him at 519 for the year; pretty close to his average.

He would need to hit at a .387 clip (116-300) in order to finish at .400 even. Not very likely, but certainly not impossible. Factor in the media attention and immense pressure that would mount around mid-August should he still have a chance, and you can understand why so many great major-league hitters have failed to supplant Teddy Ballgame as the latest member of the .400 club.

If Chipper hits a skid and hitting .400 is no longer in the discussion, baseball fans should still appreciate the season the likeable veteran is having.

Jones is just what baseball needs on the heels of the Steroid Era with the face of the era being the infinitely, unlikeable Barry Bonds.

With the exception of his batting average this year, nothing Chipper does goes against convention baseball logic. If anything, his homerun totals has decreased from his younger years when he was a perennial 40-homerun threat.

What he has lost in skill and bat speed (not much), he has made up for in maturity.

Since making his big-league debut in 1993, Jones has played his entire career in the same uniform. Even greats like Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez cannot make that claim.

If it had not already happened, this season certainly sealed his trip to Cooperstown after the playing days are over.

Since 1980, only seven major league hitters have carried a .400 average into July. Ironically it was another third baseman, George Brett who made the most serious attempt in 1980. The hard-nosed Brett sat on .400 on Sept. 19, before finishing at .390.

It was a wild ride for Brett 28 years ago. If Chipper Jones continues to crank out two hits a night, we all may be in for a similar ride this year.