Chipper takes shots at drug cheaters (though he considered it)
Chipper Jones knows when his career is over, he will have done it right way. (Jason Getz/AJC)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – There was a time when he considered it. Chipper Jones thought about taking a pill, sticking a needle in his arm, doing whatever it is cheaters do in hopes of gaining an edge and fooling us into believing the mutant statistics all came about from hard work and whey shakes.
“Yeah. I mean, definitely,” the Braves’ almost-40 third baseman said Monday when asked if he ever considered using performance-enhancing drugs. “You see peers doing it. You see contemporaries on other teams doing it and putting up [big] numbers. But at that point in my career, while I didn’t have kids yet, and I thought, I don’t want to jeopardize their lives [with the backlash] one day.”
On Monday, Braves players were given a presentation from a team doctor on what substances to stay away from.
“I can pretty much recite it from year to year,” Jones said, and the banned list didn’t include the yogurt he happened to be eating at the time.
Jones will go into the Hall of Fame one day. He will be in a special group of players who, as he said, “have done it right. The guys who get done with their career and make it through the so-called steroid era unscathed, that’s a huge feather in our cap.”
There have never been any allegations against Jones. No smoking syringe. No leaked grand jury testimony with his name on it. No chapter in a Jose Canseco book.
Still, Jones’ father wanted to know for sure. “A few years ago,” according to Chipper, the elder Larry Jones asked him point blank if he had ever cheated.
Jones believes "less than one percent" of players in the majors still take performance-enhancing drugs. (Jason Getz/AJC)
“I can just imagine what my dad would’ve said if he found out that four, five or six years out of my career he knew that I was cheating,” Jones said. “He told me as much. He said, ‘Please tell me you never did that.’ I said, ‘I never did.’ He said, ‘I can’t think of anything that would disappointment me more than finding out that you did something like that.’ I said, ‘Well, you don’t have to worry about that.’”
Performance-enhancing drugs are in the news again. Ryan Braun, the National League’s Most Valuable Player last season, failed a drug test last October. He had extraordinarily elevated levels of testosterone. He was suspended for the first 50 games of this season but had the penalty overturned by an appeal. Braun and his legal team did not question the science of the test but rather the protocol, and won the appeal on a technicality: The sample was stored in the tester’s home over a weekend because he believed Federal Express was closed.
Jones understands why Major League Baseball is livid over the arbitration panel’s decision: “Now the integrity of every positive test is going to be scrutinized. They’re going to have to back-check everything,” he said.
But he didn’t openly question Braun.
“I feel like I know Ryan pretty well — he would’ve been one of the guys who never would’ve considered to have done it,” Jones said. “If he went to the lengths that he did to clear his name, I believe him. I just don’t know how someone could be so negligent. If he did [take something], he got lucky. If he didn’t, he was rightly vindicated.”
But haven’t Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens gone to great lengths to clear their names?
“Sure — and did they? Why was [Bonds] convicted of [obstruction of justice]? Why would he lie?”
Jones believes the used of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, while not completely eradicated, is way down. He estimated that at its peak, 20 percent of the league was using, or five players per team. His breakdown: “I would say one of the numbers producers, one of the stud pitchers and the other two or three were down at the end of the roster, trying to stay out of Triple A.”
And now?
“Less than one percent,” he said. “Guys just don’t do it anymore. You’ve seen what happens to the reputations of the guys who even remotely are considered to have done it. It’s so not worth it.”
He said players in general know who’s using and who isn’t. “Let’s just say there’s an aura about them,” he said, laughing.
For what it’s worth, he said some PED users should be allowed in the Hall, the deciding factor being whether they would have had the credentials without drugs.
That’s not an issue for Jones. He has done it right way and has the credentials: 454 homers, 1,561 RBI, 2,615 hits, a .304 career average.
He turns 40 in April. He has been non-committal about playing after this season, health obviously being a significant unknown. But we can be certain of one thing: He won’t resort to chemistry to play another year.
By Jeff Schultz
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241 comments Add your comment
LawDawg
February 27th, 2012
4:21 pm
end of second paragraph should say that Sosa, McGwire, and similar players DO NOT deserve to be in the HOF.
doc
February 27th, 2012
4:24 pm
screw, that is what they kind of did using an arbitrator without having to pay extra for more lawyers. legal system is flawed and mired down enough without having this come in also these things need quicker turn arounds than the years it takes courts to do it. it is in both the league’s and player’s benefit to get it done. just look at the trials of bonds, jones and clements to know how flawed it is.
Bama Mike
February 27th, 2012
4:25 pm
Agree with fuzzybee. 3 years 42 million and tell me again what did we get in return. Still looks fat.
fuzzybee
February 27th, 2012
4:26 pm
LawDawg — That is why many people dislike lawyers, there is no right or wrong, just what you can get away with.
premadonna, entitlement babies
February 27th, 2012
4:27 pm
They’re all a bunch of ho dogs…….you know it, I know it, the world knows it.
And ho dogs are by nature, liers (feeble attempts to protect their actions).
premadonna, entitlement babies
February 27th, 2012
4:29 pm
The bad thing is they start to believe their own lies…..
Skeezix
February 27th, 2012
4:35 pm
Never, for a second, have I thought Chipper cheated. He will go down as one of the all time best switch-hitters in the history of the game and, in terms of the Braves, he is one of my all time favorites.
Skeezix
February 27th, 2012
4:35 pm
Never, for a second, have I thought Chipper cheated. He will go down as one of the all time best switch-hitters in the history of the game and, in terms of the Braves, he is one of my all time favorites.
Bama Mike
February 27th, 2012
4:37 pm
I just noticed that the front/sides of Chippers belt tilts forward and down just like mine. Better be careful bending over going after those slow rollers could take the breath out of him. I know.
Douglas
February 27th, 2012
4:39 pm
Someone above said Julio Franco did not use roids …….. you have got to be kidding! I f he did not then no one has. What I cannot understand is how Albert Pujols has gotten away with his roid use? Just look at him. It’s obvious. I suspect it must be some kind of desinger roid that dosen’t show up in the tests.
As for Chipper and roids, if used his numbers would be much better and the fall off would not be like it has been
Jipper Chones
February 27th, 2012
4:39 pm
First off, who would believe Chipper just cuz he said something? He’s got the loosest lips on the team, and is always having trouble backing up his claims.
Second off, yeah, he cheated on his wife. Doesn’t make him evil, but it does put him squarely in the LIAR category.
Third off, it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to read between the lines here. His dad would be disappointed to find out four or five years, or six years of his career he cheated? Why not one year? Why not one month? If that awkward part of Chipper’s story doesn’t jump out of you, your heads in the sand. Dude probably cheated a bit, but has rationalized that since he’s MOSTLY clean (”you’re friend here is only MOSTLY dead…”), he’s close enough to flap his trap about the cheaters.
This also matches perfectly his response to cheaters getting into the HOF … only if they would have anyway without the drugs … yeah, Chipper, I hear ya loud and clear.
Too many organized activities
February 27th, 2012
4:40 pm
Only organized sports should be at school.
Wouldn’t it be great to see kids playing ball again in neighborhoods with their neighbors and friends after school. Instead of parents shipping them off to soccer or traveling baseball team every day.
Sure, keep little leagues and some things, but my point is there is oversaturation of organized crap.
You can get away from the video games and still play without it being a county or state wide organized team.
Skeezix
February 27th, 2012
4:44 pm
Braun I am not so sure about. He seemed to be hitting the ball with more power than I had seen from him before and atypical of a guy his size. His numbers/power hitting just jumped to a much higher level all of a sudden. Why? And don’t tell me it was weight lifting, protein shakes and vitamins.
When I heard of a positive drug test I really was not surprised. If he has a huge drop off this year, I will be forever suspicious.
Jipper Chones
February 27th, 2012
4:45 pm
Igads, that was a grammatically sloppy post from me. Oh well, Schultz has us all taking drums.
Welcome to Hooters
February 27th, 2012
4:45 pm
Is there a new steroid spokesperson?
?
February 27th, 2012
4:46 pm
What’s a drum?
Joe Garagiola
February 27th, 2012
4:48 pm
Chipper should worry about what all that dip and chew has done to his mouth and jaw after all these years.
boy that cried wolf
February 27th, 2012
4:51 pm
Really, that wasn’t cause of steroids….
heartofdarkness
February 27th, 2012
5:06 pm
Is there a link to a story that adequately explains the Ryan Braun situation? Braun has been openly proclaiming he did not take a prohibited substance prior to his failed substance test. There have been cases of athletes testing positive due to the presence of indicators in the tested fluids which may have been produced by non-prohibited medicines, which may have resulted from unknowing introduction of prohibited substances into the body or by mistaken identity of the sample’s origin.
The results of the Braun case, as it is reported in the media, appear to uphold an inference that Braun took a prohibited substance, but due to a procedural matter involving the chain of custody of Braun’s sample, the evidence was invalidated leaving a hole in the factual presentation of Braun’s guilt. Therefore, the finding of a violation of baseball’s substance policy was vacated.
Procedure is an important part of the administration of justice, and procedurally defective prosecutions should not be allowed to stand. However, the truth of the facts underlying the violation are not necessarily affected by the improper procedure. As the story has been reported, I am left with the impression Braun was using, as no substantive rebuttal has been offered to the report of a violation.
If my recap of this matter is essentially correct, my impression may be an injustice to Braun, but not due to faulty logic. This is more of the murky environment in which big business has brought to baseball.
doc
February 27th, 2012
5:17 pm
heart you have declared him guilty without due process, so yes it is faulty logic as no one knows what happened or if it was even his sample. the testing has to be flawless and with complete integrity and sometimes when it hasnt been done that way injustices have occurred in all walks of life. until ryan fills up another cup that is juiced or turn into judy at the plate then i let it rest.
honestly, i think chipper was more guilty of using than ryan. of course at the time it could have been androstenedione which was legal but a user just the same. a far as mcguire, i thought he planted the andro so he could in the end say he took something legal. as it was he just went the fifth.
Agent009
February 27th, 2012
5:19 pm
Is there an editor in the house?
Stinger2
February 27th, 2012
5:19 pm
Hopefully Sonny Clusters will not see this blog. His recent comments about Chipper have been very negative.
Dave from Buford
February 27th, 2012
5:31 pm
Jones didn’t start having the injury problems until they (idiotically) asked him to go to the outfield for two years … he played 150 games in both those seasons but only 137 the following year and it was downhill after that, although his hitting for average recovered, he never again had the same production numbers.
Thanks, Schuerholz.
kevin chop
February 27th, 2012
5:34 pm
I would like to see chipper get 500 hrs before retirement
tdmorgan
February 27th, 2012
5:35 pm
It’s a shame that injuries have cut short many of Chipper’s seasons the last several years. He would just about be guaranteed to have had 3000 hits and 500 homeruns. He has always been one of my favorite players and will continue to be. The only thing people can fault him for is injuries, the production is always there.
Dave from Buford
February 27th, 2012
5:38 pm
oh … and if he gets 60 RBI this season he gets close (or passes) Ernie Banks and Tony Perez in career RBI … if he gets 21 dingers, he ties Willie Stargell and Stan Musial … if he gets 120 hits, he passes Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx, Billy Williams and Lou Gehrig.
Looking forward to it.
ohhhhYEAH
February 27th, 2012
5:40 pm
Jipper…
I think i speak for many when I say you may be reading TOO MUCH between the lines. I’m sure Larry Sr. would be equally as disappointed had it been one month. Thing is….who the heck is only gonan cheat for a month? That sentence alone pretty much shows that you’re reaching a little too far, don’t ya think? How many users do you think said, “You know…I think I’ll have a go at this steroid thing for a month or two, and if it doesn’t pan out….oh well.” Come on man, you’re better than that.
MJM
February 27th, 2012
5:42 pm
All those guys on performance enhancing drugs Bonds McGuire, Clements Etc should have all their records expunged and should be declared ineligible for the Hall
ohhhhYEAH
February 27th, 2012
5:47 pm
LawDawg
Hate to say, but you’re wrong. Just because Bonds and Clemens were good before anyone pointed fingers does not at all say that they weren’t using before then. I mean it doesnt take a genius to figure out how it took bonds 4 seasons to get his first 100 home runs, and then every two years after that he hit another century mark. Not to mention, Chippers body has gotten bigger with age, as does all players. Look at Miguel Cabrera his first few years up compared to now. Heck, look at jsut about anyone you want, including yourself. Your body fills out more with age, whether it be muscle from a work out regiment that all athletes are on, or fat due to not working out. But Bonds…..come on. Maguire, Sosa, same way. They went from toothpicks to monsters in about a season. And, ironically enough, their production went through the roof.
Long story short is this: anyone accused of cheating the game while playing shuold not be allowed in for the simple reason i said earlier. No one can tell how much production is coming from the drugs and how much is coming from the player. Absolutely, Bonds, Sosa, Maguire were all solid players before it seemed they were doping. But do you honestly think they ALL would have been hitting 60+ every year without them considering what they were early in their careers? Absolutely not.
AL
February 27th, 2012
6:00 pm
Jones understands why Major League Baseball is lived over the arbitration panel’s decision: ?? What? “Lived” over the decision?
"Chef" Tim Dix
February 27th, 2012
6:10 pm
For all those playing the Hooters card, not a role model, yada…
Chipper faced that music in public, up front with the media, straight ahead.
That was real life, not baseball and a situation that happens everyday to ham and eggers in the work a day world.
Funny how some people want to paint Chipper in a less than human light on this one with total disregard to the chin out, take your medicine, man that took guts way he addressed it.
Hillbilly D
February 27th, 2012
6:17 pm
Well, at least he’s not taking shots at Heyward.
DawgDad
February 27th, 2012
6:22 pm
I’m happy to hear Chipper say he is and has always been clean, and that PED use is down significantly. But I hope he understands the damage has been done, and how significant the damage is. People lie about this type of thing, and by virtue of him playing in this era he’s forever tainted with suspicion in the court of public opinion.
Integrity is hard to establish and maintain. As the Braun case points out, all parties involved (MLB, players, union, etc.) have a LONG way to go to restore PED-free integrity to the game, free of suspicion, and they can NEVER go back and correct their sordid history. The Braun case wasn’t exactly a model of player/management collaboration to clean up the sport, now was it?
Makes me wonder just who was that PED-enhanced stud pitcher on the Braves?
George Stein
February 27th, 2012
6:25 pm
Seriously, Hillbilly D.
Supes
February 27th, 2012
6:33 pm
I’ve never had any doubts about Chipper being drug free all those years…I think if he had used his HR numbers would be significantly higher now.
As far as Ryan Braun…the guy is a FRAUD. New name is Ryan FRAUD ( I got off on a technicality). Drug Test Experts all agree…there is NO WAY you get the test level he had (with a daym sealed sample) and also find SYNTHETIC Test (which the body doesn’t produce) in someone’s system unless they TOOK IT. Braun would have gotten major cred if he just WOULD admit the truth…now he’s not only a FRAUD MVP, a CHEATER and a LIAR.
Notice how he steered the controversy away from the SUBJECT matter at hand folks…he FAILED a drug test and never ARGUED that part of it!
Too bad the Brewers aren’t coming to the Ted this year, I was looking forward to being there to “greet” the FRAUD the way he should be greeted…
Delbert D.
February 27th, 2012
6:33 pm
I once considered drums. I gave up because I couldn’t do multiple paradiddles.
zgoldatl
February 27th, 2012
6:36 pm
Chipper is the man. Class act
Hillbilly D
February 27th, 2012
6:41 pm
My 2¢ on Ryan Braun is that I don’t think he’s a juicer. Of course, I know no more about what happened than any of the rest but the reports that I originally read at the time were that one sample was positive and the back up sample wasn’t. The sample that tested positive supposedly had levels high enough to be dangerous to his health. He’d already passed tests earlier in the year as well as many times. all the way back to the minors. It smells like some sort of anamoly to me. Reportedly he was being treated for a medical condition, as well. The burden of proof is on MLB, not Braun.
MLB needs to be looking into who leaked the info, since it’s supposed to be confidential until a player’s appeals are done. They’ve tainted Braun forever, whether he’s guilty or not. Even it’s eventually proved he’s totally clean, some folks will never believe it. The damage of the leak can never be undone.
When they get all that sorted out, maybe they can explain to us why Manny, a second offender, is having his suspension reduced from 100 games to 50.
Jay Dubu
February 27th, 2012
6:45 pm
1999 was contract year…a lot of players put up huge numbers in contract years.
What 5 players on the Braves used PEDs?
Longtime Brave Fan
February 27th, 2012
6:46 pm
Folks are painting Chipper like a saint, but people seem to have forgotten how in his younger days he did make some un-honorable “waitress” decisions in his personal life— we all have. No, Chipper does not have Tebow-like credentials. Manuvering to make my point…. I don’t know Chipper personally, but it’s not hard too hard to recognize just how influential his father and life-coach has been in his life. So you ask me, can I have 100 percent certainty that there wasn’t a possibility that Chipper looked into his father’s eyes and lied to him to prevent breaking he father’s heart?? If you make one bad moral choice in life, isn’t that enough to suggest you may potentially succumb to another? Even a liar will look you in the face and say I’m telling the truth. That should be fairly evident in baseball.
George Stein
February 27th, 2012
6:56 pm
Agreed again, Hillbilly D. He might be a cheater nut we will never know because MLB screwed up. Braun is entitled to the defenses the CBA provides and I won’t consider him a cheater unless he legally proven otherwise.
LL2
February 27th, 2012
6:57 pm
Professsional Cycling is light years ahead of the 4 big professional sports in America. Lets face the real facts. NFL and MLB are run by player unions and are scared if many high profile players are suspended for long periods it could affect tv ratings and MONEY from tv revenue.
JR
February 27th, 2012
7:00 pm
Jeff – do us a favor and read this post aloud to yourself, then edit it like it should have been before publishing.
braves95
February 27th, 2012
7:03 pm
its spelled ‘livid’, not ‘lived’. not an oprah film…
Let's Go
February 27th, 2012
7:06 pm
There was a time when I thought Chipper probably did something but as the years have gone on I’ve come to believe he may be clean. Steroids are one thing but the HGH is what I would have thought Chipper would have dabbled in considering all the injuries he’s had but looking back over his career from 96 to 07 his numbers were pretty consistant. Yeah he had his MVP year in 99 but looking back now 45 HR’s & 110 RBI’s was not that big of deal for that time period.
Jared
February 27th, 2012
7:08 pm
Great read. You misspelled ‘livid.’
corvette11
February 27th, 2012
7:14 pm
Chipper stays on the DL too much to have taken help pills.
Jeff Schultz
February 27th, 2012
7:14 pm
Just now checking in. Thanks all for the comments so far.
corvette11
February 27th, 2012
7:17 pm
Thanks Jeff,
Appreciate some fresh meat to gnaw on
Jeff Schultz
February 27th, 2012
7:27 pm
Rothchild — “Drugs.” Typo was fixed.