Braves Quote For The Day ... One Park Left For Chipper

Yahoo! baseball writer Tim Brown has a great Q&A up on his site with Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones. I've clipped the money quote from that article, which may be the most Chipper Jones quote ever:

Funny thing: After logging all those miles, Jones has played in every major-league park but one – and Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium will host the All-Star game this summer. It would be Jones' eighth All-Star selection. If he didn't necessarily have the numbers, he'd be a nice pick for NL manager Tony La Russa.

Jones shook his head.

"I don't want any pity All-Star appearances," he said. "I don't want to take a spot away from anybody else who's more deserving. I've had my All-Star appearances. … I'd much rather earn my spot on the club."

Read the entire Q&A here.

Seriously, how could anyone not like this guy. Even Mets fans begrudgingly admire Chipper. I have a feeling that he'll get an All-Star nod regardless of how he's playing, but hopefully he'll be playing good enough to deserve it. Of course, Braves fans, and baseball fans, could make things a lot easier and just vote him in as the starter ... go here to vote for Chipper as an All-Star.

That brings up another item that MLB should consider for All-Star games, as it relates to players who have announced their retirement at the end of that year. Instead of possibly embarrassing them with an All-Star selection they may not be worthy of, how about creating a special spot on each league's All-Star roster for "All-Star Captain."