He was in rarefied air as a hitter.
"I got to play with some great players. I played with Alex Rodriguez and
Vladimir Guerrero and Juan Gonzalez. From an eye-hand contact standpoint,
Chipper could put the barrel on the ball better than anybody.
His coordination was so good, it didn't matter what type of pitcher was out there ...
whether it was a tough starter or a tough closer.
He could put the barrel on the ball better than anybody.
"People ask me, 'Who was the best pure hitter you ever played with?'
and I say Chipper Jones. If he had stayed healthy, he's a 500-homer, 3,000-hit guy
and we're not talking about him being one of the best third basemen of all time.
We're talking about him being one of the best players of all time."
- Mark Teixeira
I think he was a little more natural hitter from the left side,
and at times maybe he had a little more power from the right side.
Either way, he was just a threat from either side of the plate.
When you start getting compared to Eddie Murray and Mickey Mantle and those
types of players as a switch-hitter, then you're doing something really well.
"I always said Chipper was the kind of guy who could fall out of bed and go 3-for-4.
He had that kind of talent. To his credit, he worked at it. He understood his swing and his approach, and on top of that he was really good at incorporating what guys were trying to
do to get him out. His [mindset] was like, 'I know what I do, and I'm going to do it better
than you. And I'm going to have a more successful night getting my hits than you are
getting me out."'
- Tom Glavine
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