The Old Man and the Sea is one of Ernest Hemingway's more famous books. A poignant novella about what puts passion into the hearts of men, and getting older, and often, baseball.
Looking at the recent interview with Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones on The Sporting News, one can't help but notice the Atlanta superstar appears to be struggling with many of the same themes.
For fourteen consecutive years the Atlanta Braves won the National League East division, and for all of those years Larry "Chipper" Jones was at the heart of it all. A long time Mets killer, Chipper notoriously named one of his sons "Shea" after the stadium where he has done the most damage.
But by-and-large, if you choose to overlook a John Rocker or two, the Braves players and franchise were paragons of class. Much like Joe Torre's Yankees of the late 90s.
Since the balance of power has swung the Mets (and Phillies) direction the last few seasons, however, Larry Wayne Jones has been starting to show more crankiness. Last year he was outright nasty about David Wright winning the Gold Glove award. And in this most recent interview he says,
We won for 14 consecutive years, and you never, ever saw any bulletin board material. And now that these two teams [Phillies, Mets] are on top of the division, they can't keep their mouths shut. Just go play baseball. It's Cole Hamels now. It was Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Beltran the past couple of springs. These two teams are constantly going at each other verbally. You know, win with class, lose with class. Just keep your mouth shut and go play your game.
If the old man keep going like this, "Chipper" may very well have to change his name to "Crotchedy" Jones. Perhaps even start taking at bats with his cane.
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A writer like Hemingway would have done wonders with Larry's frustration; after all Jones is at the top of his game, putting up the best numbers of his career (Jones just won his first NL Batting title), all while losing more games than at any other time in his career. Those are the seeds of discontent that provide grist for the novelist's mill.
Even with all that said, it's tough to be sympathetic if this is how Chipper "loses with class". In the future he'd be wise to pause and take a longer look in the mirror, or perhaps read a book, before taking shots at others.
