This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.
Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA, Adrián Beltré in 2017, CC BY-SA 2.0
As of the 2019 Baseball Hall of Fame class, third base has the dubious distinction of having the fewest inductees in Cooperstown by any fielding position (17), which speaks to the degree of difficulty required to play the “hot corner” and to excel both offensively and defensively there over a sustained period of time. Luckily for baseball fans of my generation, we had the fortune of witnessing two of the greatest third basemen ever in Adrian Beltre and Chipper Jones. While one was a bit of a baseball nomad (Beltre) and the other a face of a franchise for nearly 20 years (Jones), both were without a doubt among the best players of their generation and at times, often underrated and under-appreciated for their greatness. 2018 was a milestone year for the two, as it marked Beltre’s retirement from baseball and Chipper’s induction into the Hall of Fame; with this era of third basemen from the 1990s coming to an end and a new generation emerging that includes stars such as Jose Ramirez, Nolan Arenado, Alex Bregman, and Kris Bryant, we should take a moment to pause, reflect, and ask:
Who was better – Adrian Beltre or Chipper Jones?
The Beginning
Beltre and Jones were both well ahead of the curve (no pun intended) on the road to stardom and made their major league debuts at a young age – following strong rookie seasons, each would quickly become a fixture at the major league level in his early 20s.
Growing up in the Dominican Republic, Beltre was signed as an amateur free agent in 1994 by the Los Angeles Dodgers at the age of 15. Following a few years of seasoning in the minor leagues, including his last stop with the Double-A San Antonio Missions, he was called up at age 19 in 1998 and played in 77 games that year, though only hit a paltry .215. The next season, Beltre took over the hot corner full-time and hit .275 with 15 home runs, 67 runs batted in, 84 runs scored, a .352 on-base percentage, and a .428 slugging percentage (good for an OPS+ of 102, which measures on-base percentage plus slugging vs. a league-wide average benchmark of 100), showing that he was here to stay.
Meanwhile, after a standout high school career in Florida, Chipper was drafted number one overall in the 1990 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves (they had originally wanted high school phenom pitcher Todd Van Poppel, but Van Poppel refused to sign with anyone except for the Oakland Athletics, so the Braves had to “settle” for Jones instead). After minor league stints in Class-A, Class-A Advanced, and Triple-A, Jones was called up to the big league club in September 1993 and was expected to compete for a starting role in 1994; however, he tore his ACL in spring training and missed the entire strike-shortened season. Nevertheless, Chipper came back with a vengeance in 1995, hitting .265 with 23 home runs, 86 runs batted in, 87 runs scored, a .353 on-base percentage, and a .450 slugging percentage (108 OPS+) en route to a second-place finish in the Rookie of the Year voting (behind Japanese pitcher Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who was not a “rookie” in the traditional sense after dominating in the Japanese league for many years).
Career Comparison
With strong rookie seasons as springboards, Beltre and Chipper would take different career arcs on their way to compiling Hall of Fame-level careers – while Beltre would wear a number of uniforms during his career, Chipper became the longtime face of the Braves and an increasingly rare player in the days of free agency who spends his entire long career with one club.
For most of his Dodgers career, Beltre was a good, but not great player, putting together five straight middling seasons where he batted between .250 and .300 with around 15-20 home runs and 60-85 runs batted in each year. At age 25 in 2004, though, he would break out in a big way, hitting .334 with 48 home runs, 121 runs batted in, 104 runs scored, a .388 on-base percentage, and a .629 slugging percentage (all career-highs), good for a career-best 163 OPS+; as a result, Beltre would win his first Silver Slugger Award (given to the best hitter at each position in each league) and finish second in the NL MVP race to Barry Bonds.
On the back of his breakout season, Beltre was able to parlay that into a big offseason contract with the Seattle Mariner, though would regress offensively – in his five seasons with the Mariners, his best offensive year came in 2007, when he hit .276 with 26 home runs, 99 runs batted in, 87 runs scored, a .319 on-base percentage, and a .482 slugging percentage (112 OPS+); defensively, though, Beltre did win two straight Gold Gloves at the hot corner with Seattle. A free agent once again in 2010, Beltre would sign with the Boston Red Sox and have arguably his best season since 2004, hitting .321 with 28 home runs, an AL-best 49 doubles, 102 runs batted in, 84 runs scored, a .365 on-base percentage, and a .553 slugging percentage (141 OPS+) to make his first career All-Star Game and win his second Silver Slugger. Once again, Beltre was able to parlay a big season into a big free agent contract, this time joining the Texas Rangers, where he would experience the most consistent success and remain for the rest of his career.
Beltre would begin his tenure in Texas with two straight All-Star nods (so three straight overall, for those keeping count) and three consecutive 30-90 seasons, including another Silver Slugger season in 2011. Though he was never crowned as MVP in either league, Beltre’s best AL finish was third place in 2012, when he hit .321 with 36 home runs, 102 runs batted in, 95 runs scored, a .359 on-base percentage, and a .561 slugging percentage, translating to a 139 OPS+. Despite a relatively down run-producing year by his Rangers standards, Beltre was once again an All-Star and Silver Slugger winner in 2014, when he put together a .324 batting average with 19 home runs, 77 runs batted in, 79 runs scored, a .388 on-base percentage, and a .492 slugging percentage (144 OPS+).
Towards the end of his career, Beltre remained a strong middle-of-the-lineup bat, including a final 30-100 season in 2016, while also achieving a number of milestones. Notably, he hit for the rare feat of a cycle twice as a Ranger and three times overall in his career, tying him with John Reilly, Bob Meusal, and Babe Herman for most all-time and is the only player to hit for three cycles at the same ballpark (Global Life Park in Arlington AKA The Ballpark in Arlington). On July 30, 2017, Beltre became the first player from the Dominican Republic and 31st player overall to reach the magical 3,000 career hits mark and the following season, he would first surpass Rod Carew for most career hits by a Latin American player and then, Ichiro Suzuki for most career hits by a foreign-born player. At the end of the 2018 season, Beltre retired from baseball at the age of 39.
As for Chipper, on a veteran Braves team loaded with future Hall of Fame pitchers (Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz), as well as other All-Star-caliber arms (Steve Avery, Denny Neagle, Kevin Millwood, Tim Hudson, etc.), he would quickly establish himself as a consistent 30-100 bat in the heart of the Atlanta lineup and one of best switch hitters in all of baseball. After his strong rookie season, Jones would put together a stretch of eight straight years where he hit at least .290 with 20+ home runs, 100+ runs batted in, and 90+ runs scored, garnering five All-Star appearances during that time. This included his MVP season in 1999, when he hit .319 with 45 home runs, 110 runs batted in, 116 runs scored, a .441 on-base percentage, and a .633 slugging percentage (both the home runs and slugging were career-highs, and resulted in a 169 OPS+); it was an all-around historic offensive season, as Chipper was the first player to ever hit .300 with 40+ home runs, 40+ doubles, 100+ walks, 100+ runs batted in, 100+ runs scored, and 20+ stolen bases in a season. Ironically, while he did win a Silver Slugger in addition to the MVP, he was not selected to the All-Star Game that year.
Jones would remain one of the top offensive players in baseball through his early 30s, with another Silver Slugger Award and couple of All-Star nods in the years following his MVP campaign. As he entered his mid-30s, however, nagging injuries would begin to hit and limit him to ~130 games per year (vs. the ~160 games he averaged in his 20s), though he remained as effective as ever in fewer games and at-bats. His last .290-20-100-90 came in 2007, when Jones batted .337 with 29 home runs, 102 runs batted in, 108 runs scored, a .425 on-base percentage, and a .604 slugging percentage, good for a 165 OPS+.
The next season, at age 36, though he only played in 128 games, Chipper would win his first and only batting title, hitting a career-best .364 with 22 home runs, 75 runs batted in, 82 runs scored, a career-high .470 on-base percentage, and a .574 slugging percentage (career-best 176 OPS+). He would be further hindered by injuries his last few seasons, though was named an All-Star twice and achieved a number of historic milestones during that time; this included joining legends Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, and Stan Musial as the only players to ever have 2,500+ hits, 1,500+ walks, 500+ doubles, 450+ home runs, and 1,500+ runs batted in with a .300 batting average, .400 on-base percentage, and .500 slugging percentage. Moreover, upon his retirement at age 40 in 2012, Jones was only the second player ever to hit above .300 from both sides of the plate (joining Frankie Frisch) and joins the legendary Mickey Mantle as the only switch hitters with 400 home runs, a .400 on-base percentage, and a .500 slugging percentage.
In comparing their long and illustrious careers, Beltre played 21 seasons to Chipper’s 19, and that longevity shows in their overall numbers – with a significant advantage in games played and at-bats, Beltre has the edge in hits, home runs, and runs batted in, though Jones scored more runs, drew almost twice as many walks, and was a slightly bigger threat on the basepaths, while also accumulating more 30+ home run seasons (6 to 5) and 100+ RBI years (9 to 5); in addition, from a ratios perspective, Chipper has the clear edge across batting average, on-base percentage (due to his superior walk numbers), slugging percentage, and OPS+. Looking at their awards and honors, Chipper had more All-Star nods (8 to 4) and an MVP, while Beltre won more Silver Sluggers (4 to 2) and was far superior with the glove, winning five Gold Gloves to Jones’ none. Due to both his greater longevity and skill with the leather, Beltre has the higher career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) at 95.7 vs. 85.2. In the history of baseball, Beltre and Jones are two of only four third basemen with 1,500+ career runs batted in, joining Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt and George Brett. As mentioned, Chipper was inducted into Cooperstown in 2018; likewise, Beltre should also become a Hall of Famer when his time comes given all of his career achievements, including reaching the magical 3,000 hit milestone (every player with 3,000 career hits and no suspected steroid use has made it to Cooperstown).
Regular Season Statistics
| Adrian Beltre | Player | Chipper Jones |
| 21 (1998-2018) | Seasons | 19 (1993, 1995-2012) |
| 2,933 | Games Played | 2,499 |
| 11,068 | At-Bats | 8,984 |
| 3,166 | Hits | 2,726 |
| 1,524 | Runs | 1,619 |
| 477 | Home Runs | 468 |
| 1,707 | Runs Batted In | 1,623 |
| 848 | Walks | 1,512 |
| 121 | Stolen Bases | 150 |
| .286 | Batting Average | .303 |
| .339 | On-Base Percentage | .401 |
| .480 | Slugging Percentage | .529 |
| 116 | OPS+ | 141 |
| 95.7 | Wins Above Replacement | 85.2 |
| 4x | All-Star Games | 8x |
| – | MVP | 1x |
| – | World Series Titles | 1x |
| 5x Gold Glove, 4x Silver Slugger | Other Awards | 2x Silver Slugger, 1x Batting Title |
| – | Hall of Fame Induction | 2018 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
As comparable as their regular season stats are, there is a relatively significant divergence in playoff numbers. During Beltre’s 21 seasons, he only appeared in the postseason five times (once with the Dodgers and four times with the Rangers), and only made it past the Wild Card Game or Divisional Round once. His best playoff run came in 2011, when the Rangers advanced all the way to the World Series before falling to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games; overall, Beltre hit .264 with 5 home runs and 9 runs batted in during that postseason, with a particularly notable moment coming in Game 4 of the ALDS vs. the Tampa Bay Rays when he became just the sixth player in major league history to hit three home runs in a postseason game.
In contrast, as part of the great Braves dynasty of the 1990s and early 2000s, Chipper made 12 postseason appearances, including 11 straight from 1995 to 2005. In his first full season in 1995, he hit .364 with 3 home runs and 8 runs batted in during the postseason as the Braves beat the Cleveland Indians in six games to win the World Series (with the title-clinching Game 6 being a 1-0 victory on a solo home run by David Justice). Unfortunately, that would be the peak of Jones’ postseason career – while favorites once again in 1996, the Braves were upset in the World Series by the New York Yankees in six games, despite another strong postseason from Chipper (.345 batting average with 1 home run and 9 runs batted in). Atlanta would make the World Series again in 1999 during Chipper’s MVP season, but were swept this time by the Yankees.
Playoff Statistics
| Adrian Beltre | Player | Chipper Jones |
| 28 | Games Played | 93 |
| 111 | At-Bats | 338 |
| 29 | Hits | 97 |
| 16 | Runs | 58 |
| 5 | Home Runs | 13 |
| 11 | Runs Batted In | 47 |
| 4 | Walks | 72 |
| – | Stolen Bases | 8 |
| .261 | Batting Average | .287 |
| .297 | On-Base Percentage | .409 |
| .450 | Slugging Percentage | .456 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; despite their different career arcs, this same rise and fall can be seen in the careers of both Beltre and Jones. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Adrian Beltre | Player | Chipper Jones |
| 2004, 2007-2008, 2010-2016 | Decade of Dominance | 1996-2003, 2007-2008 |
| 1,487 | Games Played | 1,519 |
| 5,759 | At-Bats | 5,569 |
| 1,754 | Hits | 1,780 |
| 865 | Runs | 1,067 |
| 294 | Home Runs | 308 |
| 962 | Runs Batted In | 1,034 |
| 438 | Walks | 951 |
| 37 | Stolen Bases | 117 |
| .305 | Batting Average | .320 |
| .358 | On-Base Percentage | .420 |
| .522 | Slugging Percentage | .558 |
| 64.3 | Wins Above Replacement | 60.8 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Interestingly, when you look at their decades of dominance, Chipper actually holds the edge in pretty much every category, with the exception of WAR due to Beltre’s significantly better defense at third base; Beltre also has the highest single season WAR of 9.6 in his 2004 Dodgers season.
My Thoughts
In comparing Adrian Beltre and Chipper Jones, this is one case where the career numbers tell a slightly misleading story. While Beltre is clearly a Hall of Famer in my mind and one of the more underrated players of his generation, he was more of an accumulator than a truly dominant player and was arguably only slightly above average for the first decade or so of his career, save for his career year with Los Angeles. On the other hand, Chipper was a consistently great 30-100 producer for the majority of his career, an MVP, an all-time great switch-hitter, and generally feared by pitchers; moreover, as one of the key cogs of the Braves dynasty, he played a bigger role in achieving team success, which is one of the ultimate goals of baseball, or any sport. While Beltre does have the better defensive chops in his favor (and it really is not close there), overall, in my opinion, it does not outweigh Chipper’s offensive superiority.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Chipper Jones
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
More Good Stuff
- Watch: Get tickets to see the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, or any other MLB team in action
- Wear: Buy sports apparel for the Rangers, Braves, or any other MLB team
- Collect: Buy unique sports memorabilia for Adrian Beltre, Chipper Jones, or your favorite MLB player(s) or team(s)
- Play: Show off your baseball knowledge by playing daily fantasy baseball
- Build: Start your own sports website/blog
Previous
H2H 15: Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova
