Former Tennessee Vols baseball player claps back at bizarre criticism from MLB Hall of Famer
MLB legend and baseball Hall of Famer Chipper Jones took to Twitter/X.com on Tuesday to complain about the current state of college baseball. Jones tweeted that he spent the weekend watching college baseball and that there are now only a "select few teams" he's going to continue to watch. "I will only watch a select […]
MLB legend and baseball Hall of Famer Chipper Jones took to Twitter/X.com on Tuesday to complain about the current state of college baseball.
Jones tweeted that he spent the weekend watching college baseball and that there are now only a "select few teams" he's going to continue to watch.
"I will only watch a select few teams from here on out," tweeted Jones. "Reason? They have coaches that respect the game and their opponents and demand the same of their players. Any team that doesn’t wear the uni[form] correctly, taunts the other team, and has a coach that condones this behavior, is a disgrace to the game."
Jones, presumably, was referring to teams like the Tennessee Vols, the Georgia Bulldogs, and the Auburn Tigers.
Former Vols baseball player Evan Russell sarcastically responded to Jones' tweet.
"I completely agree," tweeted Russell. "A team you should try watching is that Tennessee team. I don’t know too much about the coaching staff, but they seem to have it clicking. The program produces successful men and tons of big leaguers. Consistent 3.0+ team GPA, no scandals, and they win…fun!"
What a strange take by Jones. I mean, I get that he appreciates the game in a certain way. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But just because he doesn't like the way college baseball is currently being played doesn't mean that it's "wrong". It also doesn't require a bizarre announcement from Jones as if anyone really cares about his TV viewing choices (and let's be honest, he's probably going to keep watching those teams he claims to hate).
Jones is one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He has unique insight about the game that we can all learn from. But that doesn't give him the right to be a gatekeeper for the sport. (By the way, I wonder if Jones, who spent his entire career with the Atlanta Braves, has seen Ronald Acuña Jr hit an early inning home run recently? Acuña runs around the bases doing the Ja Morant grenade celebration like he hit a walk off in the playoffs after hitting a home run against the Padres in a low leverage situation in May.)
As a longtime fan of the sport, I love the emotion and energy that young athletes play the game with. It means something to them as competitors, and that's something that it seems like everyone can respect.
