The Atlanta Braves invited Chipper Jones to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 1 of their NLDS matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers last week. The recently-retired Jones was the perfect candidate to kick off his former team’s postseason run, but many found it bizarre that his pitch was caught by the Braves’ mascot. There was apparently a reason for that.
According to the NY Post, the Braves players were upset with Jones after he went on the team’s flagship station, 680 The Fan in Atlanta, earlier that day and predicted the Dodgers would win the series in four games. Jones sent out a couple of tweets after the game acknowledging that he was snubbed.
Wanna thank the Braves organization for having me throw out the first pitch to the mascot tonite. Quite sure that's never been done before!
— Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10) October 4, 2013
Nor will it EVER happen again!
— Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10) October 4, 2013
Wait, Chipper is still on Twitter? I thought — never mind. You can’t fault Jones for trying to be objective and giving an honest prediction. And what do you know, the Dodgers won the series in four games on Monday night with Clayton Kershaw pitching on four days rest. LA simply proved to be the deeper and more talented team, which is something Chipper and many others could see going into the series. I’m sure there will be more ceremonial first pitches for him to throw to actual players in the future.
H/T SI Hot Clicks
