Braves great Chipper Jones spent his entire career haunting the Mets and their fan base, but now the 1995 World Series champion finds himself rooting for the Amazin's this October.
The eight-time All-Star appeared on ESPN Radio's "The Dan Lebatard Show" and revealed that his allegiances lie with New York and its young pitching.
"I hate to say this, but I actually have found myself kind of rooting for them, to be honest with you," Jones said. "Jacob deGrom is from my hometown, went to Stetson University, where my godfather continues to be the head coach there. The same university that my mother and father went to. So, I got a chance to meet him last spring and just think the world of him, so I find myself in a very precarious situation now."
Jones tortured the Mets during his time with the Braves, owning a .309 lifetime batting average against the ballclub from Queens while hitting 49 homers and knocking in 159 RBIs against them. Jones was the heart of the Braves teams that notched 11 straight NL East championships from 1995-2005, keeping the Mets from seizing control of the division.
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The former first overall draft pick even went so far as to name his son Shea for the great success he had at the Mets' old home of Shea Stadium. Jones owned a .313/.407/.557 slash line at the Mets' old ball park with 19 long balls and 55 RBIs. The former infielder insists that he didn't name his son Shea to troll Mets fans.
"That was not to taunt," Jones said. "Shea was a place that I truly loved. I loved going there, I loved playing there. I hit my first homer there."
These days, the Mets play in Citi Field and it was rocking in its first ever postseason game Monday night, which saw the Amazin's topple the Dodgers 13-7.
Jones is rooting for the Mets and should they defeat the Dodgers at Citi Field Tuesday night, the club will advance to the NLCS for the first time since 2006. Nothing would please their former nemesis more.
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