Publishers Weekly
01/23/2017
Jones, one of the best switch hitters in Major League Baseball history, who spent his entire 23-year career with the Atlanta Braves, offers an insider’s look into professional baseball. In this sold memoir, cowritten with Walton, a sportswriter who covered the Braves for nearly 20 years, Jones, with the same tenacity and candor in which he played the game, takes readers into the backyard of his boyhood home in Pierson, Fla., where he and his father (a varsity high school baseball coach) simulated games they watched on TV. He recounts what it was like to have three dozen Major League scouts attend his practices and games while at the Bolles School, a private boarding institution in Jacksonville, Fla., and recalls the day he became the top overall pick in baseball’s 1990 draft. The Braves won the 1995 World Series and made the postseason every year for the next decade. But the era was plagued by rampant steroids use, and Jones—who, though tempted, claims he never touched the stuff—writes openly yet carefully about Barry Bonds, Roger Clemons, and other tainted players. He also chronicles how his first two marriages crumbled (and accepts his share of the blame), and takes readers into the batter’s box for some of his most memorable at-bats. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Ballplayer
“Baseball fans will revel in the anecdotes and behind-the-scenes look at the game.”
—Booklist
“Fans will find a clear, readable old-school account of a player who almost certainly will be voted into the Hall of Fame.”
—Kirkus
“Jones, one of the best switch hitters in Major League Baseball history…offers an insider’s look into professional baseball.”
—Publishers Weekly
Library Journal
04/01/2017
Any baseball fan of the 1990s and early 2000s knows about the dominance of the Atlanta Braves, including 14 consecutive division titles, five World Series appearances, and a sole championship in 1995. Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones, a switch-hitting third basemen, was the best player on the Braves for most of their great run. With this book, Jones and sports journalist Walton take readers on a chronological journey: enrollment in prep school, first overall pick in the draft, riding the bus through the minors, and, finally, spending his 19-year career with the Braves. A self-proclaimed Southern boy, Jones found a home in Atlanta and took less money to stay and play there. He admits, however, he was never one to keep an opinion to himself. He calls out teammates who disrespect him (including a few fistfights), gives heartfelt reasons for not taking steroids, and sets the record straight about his extramarital affairs. Throughout, Jones vividly describes many ballgames, putting readers in the moment as only a player can. VERDICT Fans of teams other than the Braves might open this book reluctantly—but they should for its lively, frank account of baseball at the turn of the 21st century. Recommended for all public library sports collections.—Keith Klang, Port Washington P.L., NY
Kirkus Reviews
2017-01-24
An Atlanta Braves legend tells his story.When Jones retired from Major League Baseball at the end of the 2012 season, he did so as a franchise hero. One of the greatest switch hitters in the long history of the game, Jones, the 1999 National League MVP, eight-time All-Star, World Series champion, and one of the linchpins of the franchise's glory years, played for his entire career, including 19 years in the major league, in the Atlanta Braves organization. In the parlance of some traditionalists, Jones played the game "the right way." His autobiography, ably co-authored by Walton, who covered the Braves for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, tells about the life and career of a small-town Florida guy who wanted to play professional baseball from the age of 4. His main inspiration was his father, a former college baseball player and high school coach who became the primary influence on his career. Jones left his small town to play for a larger high school where his exploits earned him selection as the first overall pick in the 1990 MLB draft and a hefty signing bonus. Jones is no saint—he unflinchingly details his two failed marriages, one of which fell apart because of his serial infidelities that produced a child—but he doesn't offer much in the way of true insight, maintaining the focus on his love of the sport, his approach to the game, and his successes and failures on the field. Jones was undoubtedly a great player but not a transcendent figure. There will be little readership for the book outside of baseball fans, especially in the Atlanta area, but those fans will find a clear, readable old-school account of a player who almost certainly will be voted into the Hall of Fame, possibly as early as 2018, his first year of eligibility.
