Will Chipper Jones retire?

Reports were widely circulated today that Atlanta Braves Third Baseman Chipper Jones was going to announce his retirement effective at the end of the season. Media outlets have since backed off, claiming that Chipper's announcement is not impending. It can be argued that the talk was all rumors but those who follow the game wouldn't be surprised if Jones only decided to put off the media frenzy that would certainly follow an announcement like this as to not distract his teammates in the middle of the season. Though Jones has had a remarkable career, he has struggled this year and after years of injuries, his time may be coming to an end. As Ken Griffey Jr.'s retirement earlier last week increased the action on his memorabilia, now may be a good time to grab some Chipper cards before Hall of Fame talk starts.

Though he did not enter the league until 1993, two years after his rookie cards were released, Chipper Jones was the first overall pick in the 1990 MLB Draft, so his cards were definitely stored and are easy to come by in good shape. Chipper had rookie cards issued by Bowman, Classic, Topps, Upper Deck and Score in 1991. Unfortunately, that year was a particularly awful year for card collecting and those sets were some of the worst out there. His Upper Deck rookie is probably the most commonly seen of his rookies, but the Bowman (pictured, right) is probably the most sought after. It's not a bad picture of a young Jones and collectors should probably grab one while the getting is good. Of course, some fans might want to skip the whole rookie card thing and go straight for some autographs. It's never a bad idea to put some collecting effort into a future Hall of Famer, and Chipper should be no exception.

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