Is Chipper Jones a Hall of Famer?

By Houston Mitchell

March 23, 2012 12 AM PT

Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones announced Thursday that 2012 would be his final season in baseball, bringing an end to a major-league career that began in 1993. This raises one question: Is Chipper Jones a Hall of Famer? Examine the evidence, then vote in our poll.

With one year remaining to add to his stats, Jones has a .304 career batting average with 454 home runs and 1,561 RBIs. He is in the top five in almost every offensive stat when compared to the great third basemen in history. He was a major contributor to an Atlanta Braves team that won their division almost every season he was with them.

Jones also won one MVP award and finished in the top 10 in voting six times. His OPS+ award, a number which compares him to a league average player in his era, is 141, meaning he is 41% better than an average player.

Using similarity scores, of the 10 most similar players to Jones, four are in the Hall of Fame (Eddie Mathews, Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt and Billy Williams), two are eligible but have not been elected (Jeff Bagwell and Fred McGriff) and four are not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame (Manny Ramirez, Vladimir Guerrero, Frank Thomas and Gary Sheffield).

Sp what do you think, Hall of Famer or not?

Vote now in our poll, then leave a comment defending your decision.