Infield: Third baseman Chipper Jones (1993- ) goes on the list of the top 10 all time at his position. The only question left is how high he ranks on that list. He’s a switch-hitter with a career .300 average who draws 90-100 walks per year and has 436 home runs. He has scored 1,500 runs and driven in 1,500. Chipper is clearly slowing down but is still a good player as he approaches 40. The Braves made him the top pick in the 1990 draft largely because Todd Van Poppel, the “can’t miss” pitching prospect who was the presumptive No. 1, insisted that he was going to college. The A’s picked Van Poppel in the middle of the first round and convinced him to go pro, which was hailed as a coup – but Van Poppel was never very good, and the Braves ended up with a future Hall of Famer in Chipper. The start of his career was delayed by a knee injury that cost him the entire 1994 season, but since then he has been a consistent run producer and a key member of the great Braves teams of the 1990s. First baseman Cliff Johnson (1972-86) came up as a catcher, but you’d be hard-pressed to actually say he was a catcher. For that matter, he wasn’t much of a first baseman either. He was a born designated hitter, and when he finally got to the AL in his late 20s, he settled into that role. He’ll play first here – because we’re not using the DH – but whatever position he plays in the field, the man could hit. A 6-foot-4, 215-pound slugger, he hit almost 200 home runs in his career despite the fact that he only had one year with more than 400 at-bats. Johnson had a good batting eye and he pounded left-handed pitching. He was a jovial guy and a fun player to watch – once, while playing with the Yankees, he scored on a sac fly and accidentally bulldozed the home plate umpire when he got up a head of steam and couldn’t stop in time. The umpire was knocked out cold and suffered a back injury that sidelined him for several months. Shortstop Cobe Jones (1928-29) briefly served as a backup to Glenn Wright and Dick Bartell in Pittsburgh. Second baseman Caleb Johnson (1871) was born in Illinois in 1844, so there’s a good chance he fought in the Civil War. He later became a lawyer. In between he spent one year playing third base for Cleveland in the National Association, and based on his statistics, it was a wise decision to go into law. His photograph at baseballreference.com features a beard that would make ZZ Top proud, but to be honest, it looks more like his “lawyer” photo than his “baseball photo.
Outfield: Center fielder Cleon Jones (1963-76) batted .340 for the Miracle Mets of 1969, and he then batted .429 in the playoff victory over Atlanta. He only hit .158 in the World Series against the Orioles, but he had already done enough that year to be considered one of the heroes of that legendary underdog championship team. (He also caught the fly ball that ended the World Series.) For his career, he batted .281 with 93 home runs. Left fielder Charley Jones (1875-88) has been forgotten by history, but the man could surely hit. A burly 5-foot-11, he hit .298 in his career with a .345 on-base and .444 slugging – the league averages at the time were .257/.294/.336. For a few years in the 1880s, he held the “major league” record for home runs in a single season and in a career. Among the details of his life that have been lost to the history books – an explanation of why he changed his name from Benjamin Wesley Rippay to Charles Wesley Jones, and any information at all about when, where and how he died. He is the most prominent major-league baseball player for whom no death details have been uncovered. Right fielder Charlie “Cuckoo” Jamieson (1915-32) is the only guy in the starting lineup who is not named either Jones or Johnson. He spent most of his career with Cleveland, batting .303 and scoring 1,062 runs. He was not a power hitter or a base stealer, but he piled up some doubles and triples and got on base a lot.
Catcher: Charles Johnson (1994-2005) was a superior defensive catcher with a cannon arm, and he was good for 20 home runs a year with regular playing time (167 career). He was dreadfully slow and didn’t hit for a high average, but he drew enough walks to give him a passable on-base percentage. A good ballplayer who contributed to good teams, but who had obvious limitations to what he could do.
Rotation: Connie Johnson (1953-58) was a Negro League fireballer who made it to the majors at age 30 and pitched pretty well for the White Sox and the Orioles. He started with the Kansas City Monarchs at age 17 and was the youngest player ever picked for the Negro Leagues’ East-West All-Star Game. When he made it to the majors, he pitched well and with incredible consistency – in his first four seasons, his OPS+ (the stat that measures park-adjusted ERA versus the league average) was 114, 114, 114 and 112. Chief Johnson (1913-15) was an American Indian whose career was disrupted when he jumped from the Cincinnati Reds to the Federal League and became caught up in one of the more prominent court cases involving that upstart league. He was generally a good pitcher and he won 40 games before his career ended at age 29. He was reportedly a heavy drinker, and he was shot to death over a dice game in 1922 at age 36. Lefty Chuck James (2005- ) pitched fairly well for the Braves in 2006-07, but he struggled badly in 2008 and has yet to get back on track. Lefty Cowboy Jones (1898-1901), reportedly the only 19th century player to hail from Colorado, had a career record of 25-34. Charlie Jaeger (1904) pitched reasonably well in a few games for the Tigers but didn’t stick in the majors, thus his career record of 3-3.
Bullpen: Closer Claude Jonnard (1921-29) pitched for the Giants before there was such a role as “closer,” but manager John McGraw frequently used him to finish games and he was retroactively credited with 17 career saves. He pitched for six seasons and was on five pennant winners. Claude had a twin brother named “Bubber” who was a catcher in the majors, but there were never teammates. Calvin Jones (1991-92) had a long career in the minors but didn’t last long in the majors. Casey Janssen (2006- ) is in mid-career with the Blue Jays and has been a solid, durable reliever. Cesar Jimenez (2006- ) is a Venezuelan lefty who has pitched briefly in the majors but has yet to establish himself. Chris Jakubauskas (2009- ), undrafted out of University of Oklahoma, battled his way through the independent leagues and was a 30-year-old rookie with the Mariners in 2009. He hasn’t pitched very well in the majors, but it’s impressive that he made it that far at all. Chesty Chet Johnson (1946) was a lefty who pitched briefly and none too well for the St. Louis Browns, though he won 204 games in the minors. Charlie Jordan (1896) appeared in two games for the Philadelphia Phillies, but it was long enough for him to earn the nickname “Kid.”
Bench: First baseman Conor Jackson (2005- ) has a decent batting eye and a little bit of power. He’ll start at first base when Cliff Johnson moves behind the plate to give Charles Johnson a break. Outfielder Chris James (1986-1995), the younger brother of former football star (and current ESPN analyst) Craig James, was an outfield prospect who had some good seasons but was never as good as people thought he would be be. He finished his career with a .261 average and 90 home runs. Outfielder Charlie Jones (1901-08) had some speed and started for a few years with the Washington Senators. Infielder Chuck Jackson (1987-94) batted .218 in his brief major-league career. Charlie Jackson (1915-17) was a diminutive outfielder who played mostly in the minors.
Manager: Chappie Johnson gets the nod in part because of a local connection – he managed our hometown Norfolk Stars in the Negro Leagues.
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