First let's take a look at Chipper's career line. . .
G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
2261 | 9648 | 8142 | 1505 | 2490 | 493 | 37 | 436 | 1491 | 147 | 44 | 1404 | 1278 | 0.306 | 0.405 | 0.536 | 0.941 |
Those are some pretty solid numbers, almost 2500 hits, 1500 runs, almost 1500 RBI, almost 450 HRs and a career average of .306. So without further ado, let's get comparing.
Jim Rice
Hall of Fame vote: 76.44%
Jim Rice was considered one of the most feared hitters of his era. He's more remembered for his bat than his glove. Granted, it did take Big Jim 15 tries to get in, but his career was eventually deemed worthy of the hall.
G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
2089 | 9058 | 8225 | 1249 | 2452 | 373 | 79 | 382 | 1451 | 58 | 34 | 670 | 1423 | 0.298 | 0.352 | 0.502 | 0.854 |
A quick run down of the numbers shows that Chipper clobbers Rice in every category except triples. It's worth noting that they did play in different eras and that players numbers were not as gaudy back then as they are now, but if we just look at the numbers Chipper is better than Rice.
Eddie Matthews
Hall of Fame vote: 79.42%
Generally regarded as one of the greatest third basemen to play the game, Eddie Matthews makes for an excellent comparison with Chipper Jones. They both played third, they both played 17 seasons, and they both played for the Braves.
G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
2391 | 10101 | 8537 | 1509 | 2315 | 354 | 72 | 512 | 1453 | 68 | 39 | 1444 | 1487 | 0.271 | 0.376 | 0.509 | 0.885 |
Once again, Chipper comes out on top. Runs are a push and Matthews takes HRs and 3Bs, but everything else goes Chipper's way.
Duke Snider
Hall of Fame vote: 86.49%
Duke Snider is a Dodger legend and in addition to being a Hall of Fame lock, was named as one of baseball's 100 greatest players. So let's see how he stacks up.
G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
2143 | 8237 | 7161 | 1259 | 2116 | 358 | 85 | 407 | 1333 | 99 | 50 | 971 | 1237 | 0.295 | 0.38 | 0.54 | 0.919 |
Even though he played one more season than Chipper, he has fewer at bats because his career took went downhill when the Dodgers moved to LA and he was no longer an everyday starter. But if we just look at the numbers, Snider is only better in 3Bs and slugging percentage. So, chalk another one up for Chipper.
Mike Schmidt
Hall of Fame vote: 96.52%
Another one of the all time great third basemen, Mike Schmidt was arguably "the" power hitter of his era. In addition to his tremendous power, he won 10 gold gloves. Chipper has never won a gold glove at his position, but as far as fielding goes, Chipper and Schmidt's fielding percentages at third base are quite similar. As a statistician, I'm not a big fan of the gold glove, since it's more of a popularity contest and is awarded on perception than actual numbers.
G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
2404 | 10062 | 8352 | 1506 | 2234 | 408 | 59 | 548 | 1595 | 174 | 92 | 1507 | 1883 | 0.267 | 0.38 | 0.527 | 0.908 |
Runs are a push, and Schmidt easily takes HRs and RBIs. Once again Chipper concedes 3Bs, and for the first time someone has more SBs. Although none of these players were considered much of a threat on the base path. However, Chipper does take Hits, doubles, BB/SO ratio, Average, OBP, Slugging, and OPS. I expected Chipper to have the better average and on base percentage, but I was surprised to see that Chipper has the higher career slugging percentage. For the first time in this comparison, Chipper doesn't have the outright better stats. I really didn't even expect it to be so close, as Schmidt is one of the Hall's all-time greats. So the fact that Chipper matches up as well as he does, speaks volumes.
Mickey Mantle
Hall of Fame vote: 88.22%
Finally we get to the man that prompted this whole comparison. Mickey Mantle needs no introduction. He is one of the most famous players on baseball's most storied franchise. He's a switch hitter that played for 18 seasons, so he makes for a great comparison.
G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
2401 | 9909 | 8102 | 1676 | 2415 | 344 | 72 | 536 | 1509 | 153 | 38 | 1733 | 1710 | 0.298 | 0.421 | 0.557 | 0.977 |
When I first did the comparison, I had to do a double take. I was shocked to see how similar these two players were. Mantle gets the runs by a landslide, but he played for a team that had no trouble getting him home if he got on. Chipper takes the hits, but it's pretty close. Chipper takes doubles and Mickey takes triples. Mickey gets the HRs easily, but the RBIs are so close it's almost a push. Base stealing is essentially a push. Mickey has a lot more walks, but Chipper's walk to strikeout ratio is much better. Chipper's advantage in hits gives him the edge in average, but Mickey's tremendous number of walks gives him the edge in OBP. Mickey is the only player in this list to have a higher slugging percentage than Chipper and that also makes him the only player here with a higher OPS than Chipper. The edge in this comparison has to go to Mickey, but not by that much.
To sum it all up, of the 5 Hall of Fame players, Chipper's stats are easily better than 3, different enough to call one inconclusive and just slightly behind one of the most famous players in the history of the game. No matter how you look at it Chipper deserves a place in Cooperstown, and it's my opinion that he's good enough to make it on the first ballot. If I had to guess, I'd say he gets in with somewhere between 78 and 82% of the vote.