March 12, 2006
Credit Where It Isn’t Due
Jason and I are down here in Southern California, preparing to attend tonight’s Korea-Mexico World Baseball Classic tilt by watching the U.S. and Japan go at it like cats and dogs. Chipper Jones has just homered to cut Japan’s lead to 3-1. Which is when Rick Sutcliffe, analyzing the game for ESPN, offers up this insight:
“You want to know why the Atlanta Braves have won 14 straight division titles? There’s reason No. 1 right there. He’s been there for all of them.”
Lord knows I hate to nit-pick… no, that’s not correct. I love to nitpick. It’s what I live for. So, thank you, Rick Sutcliffe, for making a sweeping statement that’s easily disprovable.
Chipper Jones tallied all of eight at-bats during the 1993 season. He did not play in the Majors during 1994. His first full season was 1995, which knowledgeable baseball fans — that is, people not named Rick Sutcliffe — will recognize as the fourth of the Braves’ titles in their current run. But I’m sure Chipper offered plenty of encouragement from Macon and Richmond for the ‘91 and ‘92 pennant winners.
Also, if you’re going to pinpoint a reason why the Braves have won 14 division titles in recent years, I should think that the names “Smoltz, Maddux, Glavine, Avery, Millwood, and especially Mazzone” should be somewhat high on the list. But that’s merely rubbing it in.
