New York Pub Plans To Honor Nemesis Chipper Jones, Renames Bar

Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones has announced that this season will be his last, something that no doubt came as a relief to fans of the New York Mets, the Braves’ perennial division rival. While New York fans may hate Chipper Jones for all the grief he’s caused them, they also respect him, and that’s the sentiment behind Foley’s Pub renaming itself “Chipper’s” for the duration of Chipper’s final three-game road series with the Mets.

“In acknowledgment of his Hall of Fame career and great performances in New York over the past two decades,we’re changing our name to Chipper’s — after retiring Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones — during the weekend of September 7-9, 2012,” the bar wrote on Foley’sNY.com. “While Chipper has broken the hearts of many Mets fans over the years, New Yorkers are as knowledgeable as anyone and they know greatness when they see it — even when it resulted in disappointment for their hometown team.”

Foley’s — or Chipper’s — is a famous New York bar with an Irish theme and loads of baseball history. For a baseball fan visiting New York, for many the site is a must-see landmark. As part of the temporary name change, the bar will be offering various types of chips, better known to Americans as french fries.

That the place is New York staple makes the honor among the best Jone’s has received on his farewell tour around the big leagues. Chipper Jones, who is batting .304 with 14 home runs in what he claims is his final season, has a history with the Mets goes back a long way.

The New York Times reports that Jones hit his first career home run at Shea Stadium way back in 1995. His second came the following day, also at Shea, starting long tumultuous relationship with Mets’ fans that has grown from disdain to respect. The respect, says the future Hall of Famer, goes both ways.

“I always held New York to a higher standard than other cities,” Jones told the New York Times. “I was jacked up to play there.”

Barring a Braves-Yankees World Series, the three game series at the Mets’ Citi Field will be his last appearance in the Big Apple as the Mets are 20 games out of first place in the National League East. The Yankees are battling for first in the American League East. The Braves are seven games back in the division, but if the season ended today Chipper Jones and Atlanta would make the playoffs with a wild card berth.