National Baseball Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson, left, presents former Atlanta Braves star Chipper Jones with his enshrinement plaque during the induction ceremony Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y. Jones was one of six players inducted Sunday.COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – Chipper Jones didn’t bow to the pressure of the moment, and it was considerable.
Jones was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, and he delivered his speech with wife Taylor staring up at him, hours away from her due date for a son to be named Cooper in honor of the special day.
Faced with that daunting task, Jones delivered flawlessly, just as he did during his 19-year MLB career – all of it spent with the Atlanta Braves.
“She changed my life forever,” Jones said as his wife brushed away tears. “It took me 40 years and some major imperfections in me along the way to find my true profession. Now we’ve taken our two families and blended them together. It has given me what I’ve been searching for my entire life – true happiness.”
A crowd estimated at about 50,000 gathered on a sun-splashed day to honor six former players. Joining Jones in enshrinement were Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, Jack Morris, Jim Thome and Alan Trammell.