It’s Chipper Jones’ final regular-season series in Atlanta, and the Braves brought out the big guns in a pregame ceremony Friday, with Hank Aaron and Bobby Cox paying tribute to the future Hall of Famer.
Aaron gave Jones a third base with the words “Chipper Jones 1993-2012,” and his teammates got him a pool table. The bases and on-deck circles on the field were stamped with a special logo in honor of Chipper. Jones’ No. 10 was painted in the grass in center field.
Speaking to his teammates on the field before the game, Chipper said “I feel like every one of you are my younger brothers. You have done such a great job of coming back after what happened last year. I’m so proud of each and every one of you.”
Unfortunately, the game itself didn’t go so well for Chipper or the Braves. Jones went 0-for-4 and the Braves fell to the Mets 3-1. The team had just four hits off Jon Niese and company.
“I think I had a tear planted in the corner of my eye basically all night,” Jones said afterwards. “It’s pretty tough to hit when you’re misty like that.”