What more do you want from Chipper now?
He now has the hits, he is a few RBI from 1,500, and he has the home runs. What makes these stats more special is that he is a switch hitter.
If, more like when, he reaches that 1,500 RBI mark, then he will be only the second switch hitter in baseball history to have that amount of RBI, as well as 2,500 hits.
Some people do not think he will get in because he doesn’t have 3,000 hits, or he hasn’t hit 500 HRs. But what he has done, I think, should easily get him in.
How many players have a lifetime .306 batting average and .405 OBP over 10 years? Not many, and those that do are, or will be, in the Hall of Fame.
Plus, unlike many great players of the past 10 to 15 years, Chipper has never been caught in a scandal. He has always been a clean, honest player who uses his own athletic skill.
Others say that he has been too injured and unproductive in these past few years to make it in the HOF. So? Many baseball greats tail off towards the end of their careers. Plus, Chipper has hit at least ten home runs in his off years instead of hitting .200 and missing 100 games.
Another factor that makes Chipper a special player is that he has played for the same team for his entire 17-year career. Once again, what other offensive players of his magnitude have done that?
He has been such a valuable player for the Braves. He has been their offensive masterpiece during these 17 years. He has been a consistent, reliable, and an overall solid player for Atlanta.
In fact, he was and is so consistent that he tied the record for 14 consecutive 20-plus HRs to start his career. The fact that only he and fellow Brave and switch hitter Eddie Mathews are the only ones that have done that is astounding.
To cap off all of the great accolades for Chipper, he is the only switch-hitter in MLB history to have a career batting average above .300 and have more than 400 HRs.
His career is not over, and his numbers could get even better. He already is currently hitting .345 for this season with six RBI.
Even if he decided to retire last year, he still would deserve to be in the hall of fame. But now it is almost irrefutable that he deserves to make the Baseball Hall of Fame.
What more do want from Chipper now?
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