It seems as though Atlanta Braves legend Chipper Jones is only a fan of college baseball teams that do things the right way, as defined by the Hall of Famer.
Having fun and bringing a different flavor to the sport during the NCAA Tournament as it winds its way to the College World Series in two weeks is completely off-limits. No wearing your uniforms incorrectly. No taunting.
It seems Chipper has not watched much college football over the last few years, or college basketball for that matter.
All of this started when the former Braves slugger took to social media on Tuesday to denounce any team that doesn’t abide by his rules when it comes to the sport of baseball, but more importantly college baseball.
Well, I’m glad that he’s a fan of Coastal Carolina, and head coach Kevin Schnall, who called out Florida’s Kevin O’Sullivan after his antics this past weekend before a game against East Carolina.
But getting back to the point that Chipper Jones was making, why does it feel as though the MLB legend is putting on a ‘fun police’ badge and coming after teams that do things a different way in the sport?
It looks as though Chipper has decided to go after Georgia, Tennessee, LSU and a team like Oregon State. I’m sorry that he feels this way, as the sport continues to grow in all respects.
And guess what? Teams that show a different side on the field are actually fun to root against, while also driving fans to tune in, just to see them lose. I hate to break it to Chipper, and I mean no disrespect to him at all, but college athletics is fun because we actually see emotion from these guys on a weekly basis.
This Isn’t Major League Baseball. College Game Needs To Be Different
Maybe if the Miami Marlins or Colorado Rockies actually made going to games fun, fans could get past how bad they are in baseball. You know what makes Major League Baseball boring for fans that have a hard time getting into the sport?
There aren’t a lot of emotions that go into each game, which feels more like watching eighteen holes of golf, compared to watching the best players in baseball battle on the field every night.
By no means am I going after Major League Baseball, as I certainly enjoy watching when the postseason comes around. But do you know how hard it is to get fans to tune into a random college baseball game in March? If you don’t have ‘villains’ or a team worth paying attention to, it’s difficult to grow the sport.
Heaven forbid a group of college athletes have a good time while they play the sport that they love. Oh my, there’s a team that gets so caught up in the moment that they have a few bat-flips after knocking one out of the park.
I look forward to seeing why Chipper is not watching college football because the touchdown celebrations have gotten out of control.
It’s almost as if Tennessee’s Tony Vitello had a magic eight-ball, and could see the comments coming from Chipper Jones, as the Vols head coach discussed his team showing emotion at the right time, while also pointing out that folks on Twitter would have a field day.
“Jumping into big boy’s arms was fun and foolish. I’m sure someone won’t like it on Twitter or whatever, but, you know, there’s a lot of moments where we calm the excitement we have going on, and there’s a lot of sacrifice and a lot of hard work,” Vitello said after the win on Monday. “So the boys don’t need to be doing anything too crazy tonight, but they need to enjoy it. All kids should enjoy it. You hit a homer, 450 feet, you know, 450 feet is a new day and age. Maybe you look at it for a second, but anyway, I had fun doing it.”
College Baseball Fans Go To War With Chipper Jones, On Social Media
Obviously, the opinion of ole Chipper was going to draw the attention of college baseball fans on X, or has the old timers like to say ‘that facebooker thing’.
And I’ll give it to the fans. The opinions varied about what sportsmanship looks like on the baseball field, which I respect. There are plenty of people that grew up looking at baseball in a different way, and there are plenty of fans that enjoy how the sport has evolved over the years.
As for the comment from Chipper Jones, he was met with different takes on his thoughts about college baseball.
These are just a few of the thousands of replies to Chipper Jones, with plenty of people supporting the comments from the MLB legend.
But just because he played the game at a different time, or handled himself in a different way, doesn’t mean everyone is going to agree with him.
College Baseball Is Growing, Playing With Emotions Is A Good Thing
Did we forget these players are college athletes? I don’t remember seeing Chipper Jones saying that he won’t watch college football because there are some teams that take trash-talking to a higher level. Is he upset when a coach loses his mind over a penalty called against their team?
Again, this is not meant as disrespect, but if you aren’t watching the sport of college baseball on a weekly basis, it’s easy to jump to a conclusion after watching the opening regional of the NCAA Tournament.
What makes this sport great is the passion that these teams play with on a nightly basis. There’s a reason why thousands of fans will show up on a Tuesday night to watch their team play what is essentially a ‘buy game’. If fans want to hate an opposing team for how their coach acts during a heated situation, that only draws viewers in.
How much do people dislike Tony Vitello or Wes Johnson? But guess what? People are talking about them, and that hatred drives viewers to tune in to their games, which only helps the sport grow. Not everyone has to be the buttoned-up head coach who acts like he’s participating in the fourth round of The Masters golf tournament.
There is so much emotion that goes into this sport, and if you get the chance to attend a College World Series, I highly advise you to check it off your bucket list of sporting events.
At least we know Chipper will be tuning in this weekend to watch Coastal Carolina play in the Super Regionals. But, heaven-forbid the Chanticleers show some emotion, talk a little trash or celebrate a home-run with a bat-flip towards the opposing dugout.
It’s good to have you watching college baseball now, Chipper. Maybe you’ll tune in when it’s not just the NCAA Tournament, if you don’t already.
We could use more MLB legends advocating for the sport.
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