8
2012
As Good As David Wright Is, He’s Not Chipper Jones
An article by 
I am a David Wright fan. I’ve been an ardent supporter of the Mets’ third baseman since his first call-up to the big leagues in 2004. I’ve seen him produce some of the greatest offensive seasons in franchise history and I’ve seen him make outstanding defensive plays. I’ve also seen him represent the Mets at the All-Star Game more often that not.
I have never been a Chipper Jones fan. I’ve disliked him since before anyone knew his name was Larry. I’ve seen him win only two Silver Slugger Awards and I’ve never seen him win a Gold Glove. I’ve also seen him very little at the All-Star Game, as he has missed the Midsummer Classic more than he has played in it.
I gladly cheer for David Wright. I loudly boo Chipper Jones. That being said, David Wright has a long way to go to be as great as Chipper Jones.
Chipper Jones and David Wright. One is an all-time great. The other is a great Met.
The soon-to-be-retired Jones has been killing the Mets for nearly two decades. But then again, fans in Miami, Philadelphia and Washington (Montreal, too) can claim the same thing, as Jones has been an equal opportunity slugger against every team in the National League East.
Since making his debut for the Braves in 1993, Jones has torn the cover off the ball against every division rival. Don’t believe me? Here are the numbers to prove it:
vs. Mets: .312/.408/.550, 46 doubles, 49 HR, 158 RBI, 167 runs in 240 games.
vs. Marlins: .299/.393/.505, 47 doubles, 40 HR, 165 RBI, 151 runs in 242 games.
vs. Phillies: .332/.442/.599, 70 doubles, 49 HR, 151 RBI, 165 runs in 243 games.
vs. Expos/Nats: .299/.405/.505, 62 doubles, 41 HR, 160 RBI, 173 runs in 262 games.
Simply stated, Jones has been a dynamo against the teams in his own division. His production has been one of the main reasons why the Braves have been competitive in the National League East for two decades, despite the constant player turnaround.
Jones has also been wonderful in the postseason. In the playoffs, the Braves’ third baseman has a .288 career batting average and .411 on-base percentage. He also has 18 doubles, 13 HR, 47 RBI and has scored 58 runs. But more incredibly, Jones has been a part of countless postseason rallies for the Braves, reaching base a whopping 169 times in only 92 games. That’s almost two times on base per playoff game over his entire career!
Meanwhile, David Wright has also been very good against teams from his own division, but has only gotten a small taste of the postseason, not doing particularly well in his one October experience with the Mets.
In nine seasons with the Mets (which is approximately half of the service time accumulated by his fellow hot corner handler in Atlanta), Wright has complied the following career numbers against the other teams in the National League East:
vs. Braves: .268/.347/.489, 29 doubles, 28 HR, 76 RBI, 65 runs in 142 games.
vs. Marlins: .328/.396/.537, 35 doubles, 22 HR, 94 RBI, 95 runs in 136 games.
vs. Phillies: .282/.352/.508, 36 doubles, 26 HR, 93 RBI, 79 runs in 137 games.
vs. Expos/Nats: .303/.381/.502, 48 doubles, 19 HR, 84 RBI, 97 runs in 146 games.
Wright’s splits are just slightly below what Jones has produced in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage over his career, but his extra-base hits and run production have been on par with Jones. Just looking at those numbers would lead anyone to believe that Wright’s career is taking a similar path as Jones.
But there is one glaring difference between Jones and Wright that keeps the Mets’ third baseman a notch below his counterpart. Jones has always come up big in key spots. David Wright, on the other hand, isn’t quite there yet.
In 1999, Chipper Jones willed the Braves over the Mets in the NL East. In a three-game sweep over the Mets in late September, Jones sealed the deal on the National League MVP Award, hitting four home runs and driving in seven of the 13 runs the Braves scored in the series. Jones continued to hurt the Mets in the NLCS that year, reaching base 15 times in 29 plate appearances.
Before Shea Jones was born, Chipper Jones came to life at Shea.
Meanwhile, David Wright didn’t factor much in his sole postseason appearance in 2006. In the Mets’ seven-game loss to the Cardinals in the NLCS, Wright batted .160, collecting as many strikeouts (four) as hits.
For his career, Wright is a .301 hitter with a .382 on-base percentage. But in the final month of the regular season, his numbers aren’t nearly as good. In September (and those few regular season games played in October), Wright’s batting average dips to .291 with a .359 on-base percentage. Meanwhile, Jones gets hotter as the season progresses. The lifetime .304 hitter (with a sparkling .401 OBP) is batting .305 with a .408 on-base percentage after September 1st. The dog days of summer don’t affect Jones the way they do Wright.
Finally, as good as Wright has been for the Mets, Jones was better at a similar point in his career. Here are Wright’s numbers through games of September 7 (his ninth season with the Mets), followed by Jones’ numbers with the Braves after his ninth season:
Wright: .301/.382/.507, 318 doubles, 19 triples, 200 HR, 804 RBI, 778 runs, 992 Ks
Jones: .309/.404/.541, 305 doubles, 26 triples, 280 HR, 943 RBI, 966 runs, 781 Ks
Jones leads Wright in all offensive categories except doubles, but Wright has also struck out 211 more times than Jones had at the same point in their careers. In fact, Wright has averaged approximately 120 strikeouts in every full season he’s played in the majors. Jones has NEVER struck out 100 times in a season. His career high of 99 whiffs was achieved in his first full season with the Braves in 1995.
David Wright has five 100-RBI seasons to his credit. Jones had eight consecutive 100-RBI campaigns from 1996-2003. (He has nine 100-RBI seasons overall.) From 1998-2008, Jones had a .400 on-base percentage in every year but one (2004). In 2007, Wright enjoyed his only season with an on-base percentage over .400.
Wright has batted over .315 only once in his career (2007). Jones has had six such seasons. In fact, from 2006-2008, when he was in his mid-thirties and supposedly in the twilight of his career, Jones batted a combined .342, winning the National League batting title in 2008 with a .364 batting average.
So how valuable has David Wright been to the Mets in the eyes of the MVP voters? Not very much, as Wright has finished in the top 20 in MVP voting only four times. Meanwhile, Jones has finished in the top 20 eleven times, including each of his first nine full seasons in the majors, which coincidentally is the same number of years that David Wright has played in the big leagues for the Mets.
Chipper Jones has always stood tall next to David Wright.
David Wright has been one of the best players in the history of the Mets, ranking among the team leaders in almost every offensive category. But Wright’s competition on the Mets’ all-time leaderboard includes Ed Kranepool, Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson. Those players were great Mets, but they’re not all-time greats in the sport.
Chipper Jones is also omnipresent on his team’s all-time offensive leaderboard. But take a look at the top three in most of those categories. You won’t find any Kranepools, Strawberrys or Johnsons there. Instead, you’ll find two names joining Jones in the majority of those categories – Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews, both of them Hall-of-Famers and among the all-time greats of the sport.
So the next time someone talks about how great David Wright has been, you can agree with them, but only in comparison with other Mets. When someone brings up Chipper Jones, however, feel free to mention him in the company of the game’s all-time greats. As good as he’s been for the Mets, David Wright has a long way to go to be an all-time great. By the same token, Wright also has a long way to go to be like Chipper Jones. Love him or hate him, Chipper Jones deserves the respect given to the best players in the game’s history. He’s done everything on the field to earn it.
About the Author: Ed Leyro
Ed Leyro was hatched in the Bronx, but spent most of his youth in Queens at Shea Stadium. Apparently, all that time spent at Mets games paid off as Ed met his wife (The Coop) for the first time at Citi Field during its inaugural season. Guess the 2009 season was good for something after all. In addition to his work at Mets Merized Online, Ed also owns, operates and is head janitor at Studious Metsimus, where he shares blogging duties with Joey Beartran. For those not in the know, Joey is a teddy bear dressed in a Mets hoodie. Clearly, Studious Metsimus is not your typical Mets blog.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 23 | 18 | .561 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 19 | .548 | 0.5 |
| Phillies | 20 | 23 | .465 | 4.0 |
| Mets | 16 | 24 | .400 | 6.5 |
| Marlins | 11 | 31 | .262 | 12.5 |
Last updated: 05/18/2013
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Great post. Say what you want about Chipper, but he’s been the best third baseman in our generation. And as for all this outrage about the Mets giving him some artwork as a gift, it was a classy act by the Mets. And by the way the Braves have always been very classy toward many of our players and showed some class during the Piazza post 9/11 game standing on the dugout steps and applauding the Mets win at the end of the game.
There were a few comments made that were on point. First, The title of the article, “As Good As David Wright Is, He’s Not Chipper Jones.” It was on Labor Day when a HR was hit against the Cardinals making the score 5-4 in their favor. Wright came up next and struck out. It was at that point that I wished it was Chipper Jones that batted because he asserts himself and comes through in game situations. Second, “David Wright has a long way to go to be as great as Chipper Jones.” Wright doesn’t have the same drive and “killer instinct.” Finally, “The soon-to-be-retired Jones has been killing the Mets for nearly two decades. But then again, fans in Miami, Philadelphia and Washington (Montreal, too) can claim the same thing, as Jones has been an equal opportunity slugger against every team in the National League East.” David Wright, while a good player, has not been that consistent and dominant where Jones has!
Just last night during the game they were talking about how tired Wright looked and how he’s a different player in the second half from the first half. Chipper Jones ramps it up September and October and as good as Wright is, he just peters out and runs out of gas.
I am no DW fan. However a better question would be:
“Would Chipper Jones in his prime with the Mets supporting cast after 2008 be any better clutch than David Wright. “
Jones’ drive is different and during that time, he would have left for greener pastures. Unlike those Mets teams, Chipper Jones was NOT an underachiever!
With Delgado, Alou, Piazza DW was a very productiver player. When you are under contract as DW was without a supporting cast the only way to leave is to demand a trade. DW a good citizen would never do that. DW recently made a big mistake taking back his original statement that he wants to play on a winning team. This team is rebuilding but is afraid to say so. Met fans forget when Chipper recently had down years due to age and injuries and the Braves were not to thrilled to resign him. DW to me does not appear to age well. I would be weary of a contract to him over five years.
Maybe Larry wasn’t an underachiever, but those Braves teams might be. They did make the playoffs a ton, which is certainly more than the Mets have done,but only one WS ring (and that was in Larry’s first full year…a LONG time ago) in all those years of having great teams. They had a pretty hefty choke job last year too…very similar to those ’07 Mets
This article was a “master of the obvious” one to me. Larry is a first ballot HOFer…and one who will be so for being great year in year out, not just for playing long enough to compile certain milestones. He’s probably a top 3 3rd baseman all time, and was a dominant offensive player…his greatness stands up in comparison to almost anyone. Even if you compare him to recent Yankee greats (a team that has obviously had more stars than the Mets)….Larry is probably better than any player that has been there over the past couple decades except maybe A-Rod.
Though to nitpick, I don’t really see the point in talking about Sept numbers…I don’t see what they really have to do with anything. The years the Mets were actually relevant in Sept and it had a pennant race type feel, Wright was great. The other years Sept was a pretty meaningless month.
There is one September at-bat by Wright I’ll never forget. When the Mets played the Cubs during the last week of the 2008 season at Shea Stadium, Daniel Murphy led off the ninth inning with a triple. With no out and needed just a fly ball to win the game (and thus, save their season), David Wright came to the plate. Ordinarily, he would have been intentionally walked. But because the Cubs had already clinched the NL Central and had nothing to play for, manager Lou Piniella had his pitcher pitch to Wright. What did Wright do? He struck out.
The Mets went on to lose the game in extra innings and missed out on the playoffs. It was just one at-bat, but imagine how things would have turned out differently had Wright not struck out. I was at that game and I’ll never forget the disappointment. Yes, Wright had a great September that year, but when he really truly need to come through, he didn’t.
I wonder how Chipper Jones would have fared in that spot.
Yeah yeah, thats been cited here many a time. And again it was just one AB. There were many AB throughout that year that Wright had that contributed to Mets wins.
We have no idea what would have happened had the Mets won that game, none. Nor what Larry would have done. For his career Larry has had a 55% success rate in getting the runner in from 3rd with less than 2 out…not a 100% success rate.
Eh, Chipper struck out with the bases loaded in the third last night. It happens.
I think I remeber that game. David’s count I believe was 2-0. They were obviously giving him nothing to hit. He wanted to be a hero and swung at bad pithces.
Wright was up 3-0 in that at bat. Took a 3-0 right down the pipe. Missed a hittable pitch on 3-1 and struck out on a 97 MPH heater a foot off the outside corner. That was also a game in which we led 5-1 behind a Delgado granny and Ollie couldn’t hold it.
Same game that in the 8th with a runner on 3rd and Reyes softly grounded out.
In addition, after the Wright K which was the first out, Beltran and Delgado were walked, and with the bases loaded and only one out, the team still couldn’t score, but years later we are still talking about that K by Wright.
Nope Wright is no Chipper, but not clear on what Mets fan every claimed he was.
I’ve always respected the baseball ability of Chipper and I’ve never booed him. But he’s not perfect and some of the analysis about him and David shows why good scouts are generally not rabid fans.
Both ‘fansince67′ and Ed Leyro seem to make a career decision about the worth of David Wright based on one plate appearance. It should be pointed out that Chipper has struck out over 1400 times, even though his AB/SO rate is superior to David’s. He’s had a greater career, no doubt. But please guys, don’t resort to superficial analysis.
P.S.: Despite having just replied to a couple of comments made in this section that I don’t think pass the muster, I found Ed Leyro’s story compelling. He is one of the best.
Des, I did not “make a career decision about the worth of David Wright based on one plate appearance.” That was from another speaking about a Cubs game, not me. Second, you posted, “But please guys, don’t resort to superficial analysis.” What could be more “superficial” than your not getting the facts straight when making a statement?
My point is this, I would rather have Chipper Jones, with his grit over a career, on my team than David Wright! David is a good player but Chipper has more of an edge towards playing the game and taking it out on the teams of the NL East.
fansince67 — “Wright came up next and struck out. It was at that point that I wished it was Chipper Jones that batted because he asserts himself and comes through in game situations.”
At the above mentioned point, I think you declared that Chipper was better, despite the fact he has struck out 1400 times in his career. To distill a choice into one time at bat makes my point.
If we are shooting for HOF can I get Robinson instead and instead of ever having Reyes can I get Barry Larkin?
What a silly exercise.
It’s good to read that other mets fans have the same thought on DW as I do.For years I’ve heard mets fans talking about DW as the second coming of Babe Ruth or Joe Dimaggio and in reality if you know a little about BB you have to admit he is a good ball player, not a super star or even a great ball player.Which brings me to his pending contract extension.Do you think he is worth 20M a year for 5 or 6 years.( I don’t) a true Mets fan since 62.
You mean Fred was right about something?
Well of course Wright is not a first ballot HOF. Did anyone give the impression he was?
What’s next? The Matt Harvey is good but he is not Sandy Koufax?
As good as Wright is he is, he is not Chipper. DUH!
Recently, there was a post on this site asking if mike fatcessa’s rant about how horrible the mets were was the reason they had finally started to win some games(please, so ridiculous). Now, a post either informing us or telling us that Chipper is a better player then DW. My question is, what’s the point? It’s like apples and oranges. One has nothing to do with the other. Why even write a post that’s entire point is to deflat Mets’ fan’s opinions of their lone offensive all star(actual all star)? Is this a mets’ fan site or are we all Brave’s fans? Are mets fans to stupid to realize that DW isn’t a better player than a future first ballot HOF’er? Was there some sort of clammoring amongst the mets faithful rising up or a movement stating that DW is a better player then Chipper , and Metsmerized figured they’d put a stop to it before it got out of hand? This site is growing. It’s really exceptional. It’s a awesome site for all mets fanatics. But posts like this and the one either yesterday or the day before about Mike Francessa are just ridiculous. Isn’t there an editor or something that reads through the posts ahead of time? Those two had no business on this site.
I liked your post and will add Wright is no Chipper and probably not a Ryan Zimmerman either if the Nats go all the way.
Let’s not forget that Chipper has always had a reliable bat hitting behind him. Who has been hitting after David Wright since the Met’s dispensed with Carlos Delgado? I do agree that Chipper has produced in the clutch and is a HOF first ballot. But your comparing oranges and apples. Give David Wright a Prince Fielder type hitter behind him for 5 years and then let’s see what happens. One more thought. Do you think that Fred Wilpon should have taken into consideration the makeup of his team before implementing the dimensions of Citifield? I think for David it must of been pretty depressing hitting doubles that were home runs the previous year. He is after all human.
We should go by position.
Ike is good but he’s no Joey Votto.
Murphy is good but he’s no Robby Cano.
Tejada is good but he’s no Tulowitzki.
Thole stinks but he’s no Bob Uecker.
AS IMPRESSIVE AS ED’S BIO APPEARAS, IT’S UNFORTUNATELY CONFINED WITHIN THE “NY BUBBLE” EXPERIENCE.
AS SOMEONE FORCED TO WATCH ALL ATL-NYM CONTESTS OVER THE BRAVES FEED I’LL TELL U IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS THEIR EXCLUSIVELY “HOMER-CENTRIC”ANNOUNCERS VIEW DAVID WRIGHT AS MUCH OF A BRAVES’ KILLER AS WE CATEGORIZE LARRY AMONG SERIAL MET SLAUGHTERERS IN FACT DURING GAME 1 OF THIS SERIES THEY PUT UP A SIDE BY SIDE GRAPHIC COMPARING CHIPPER’S FIRST 8 SEASONS WITH WRIGHT’S AND REMASRKABLY THERE WAS LITTLE MORE THAN A HAIR’S BREATH DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM RE. ABs, HITS, HRs,RBI. AS I RECALL. THEY WERE ALSO ON A SOAPBOX OF RESENTMENT OVER THE WILPONS DECISION TO “HIDE” THE PRESENTATION OF THE HONORARIUM IN THE BOWELS OF THE BALLPARK CONSIDERING IT CLASSLESS THOUGH THEY DID CONSIDER THE ACTUAL GIFT A CLASSY REMEMBERANCE; JUST THE METHOD OF PRESENTATION AS CLUELESSLY SELFISH.
MOST LIKELY BECAUSE SINCE 1990 SO MANY OF THE FINAL GAME SCORES FAVOR ATLANTA, IT’S DIFFICULT FOR THE LOSING SIDE TO TRULY CALCULATE & APPRECIATE THE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE ONE PLAYER’S EFECT CAN WROUGHT.
IT USED TO BE SUCH A TOTALLKY DIFFERENT STORY THROUGH THRE 80s WHEN I RECALL BEING EMPLOYED MANAGING 2 LOCATIONS, 1 IN IN MACON & THE OTHER IN COLUMBUS, GA AS I TRAELED BETQWEEN THEM LISTENING TO THE BRAVES’ RADIO STATION ON A THURSDAY PRIOR TO AN UPCOMUING 3G SERIES @ FULTON COUNTY STADIUM(“THE LAUNCHING PAD”) AS THE ANALYSTS OPINED THE BEST PART OF THE SRERIES WAS THEY MISSED GOOEN AS THEY WERE SCHEDULED TO FACE, I BELIEVE DARLING,FERNANDEZ & AGUILERRA THAT THEY AT LEAST HAD A CHANCE TO POSSIBLY WIN THE GET AWAY GAME TO AVOID BEING SWEPT. AS I RECALL, THEY WERE QUITE ACCURATE IN AS MUCH AS AGGIE GOT ROCKED BY A MULTI HR GAME FROM BOB HORNER.
If I’m not mistaken 62, current Yankee announcer John Sterling was the Braves announcer back then.
I found this article very interesting like most of your work here. I appreciate the research, especially on the statistical side, which I know is time consuming. You always present your data in an enjoyable read. Looks like some of the posters here look at your title and base their comments on that, but you took two relevant happenings in Chipper’s farewell, and Wright’s possible farewell and clearly illustrated the differences between the two players in the most interesting of ways. Thanks.
I disagree…I think the point of the article, Chipper being better than Wright is correct but most of the comparisons seemed pretty arbitrary to me. How many times they’ve hit “.315″ or better… top 20 MVP votes, September stats, etc.
everyone keeps saying that DW is the Mets best ball player, if you take a good look at this team that’s not saying a whole lot. They also say he’s the face of the franchise, I don’t think that’s reason enough to break the bank for him.
Nice article and gives us something to “comment” on during these lack of offense days in Sept.
Don’t know the reason why David has been either mentally or physically tired at the end of season, this year I can understand to a point, but either his off season work outs are not the best or he is taking too much on his shoulders, as this season seems to be, and the mental fatigue can bring your game down.
Despite his offensive troubles since ASG he has continued to play “Gold Glove” caliber 3b and I hope that this year, the year he really has earned it, he gets it.
Nice to see/read your comments 62, they have been far and few, for my time here but despite the Chipper having a HOF career, only because of being a switch hitter and being part of those pitching crazy teams of the 90′s though they only won 1 WS.
How would Met fans react to that?
Well these past few years the team has certainly been pretty mentally exhausting to watch haha