I will make a point to go to the Braves last game of the season in NY, Sept 19th. I've always disliked him, but, now HE was a worthy opponent.

hopefully there's enough decency and class left that fans will give him a standing ovation....one he deserves as being, as you said, a worthy and class opponent for all these years.....

I do think he would get an ovation and a good one, especially if he promises not to come back.

yeah, especially if promises not to come back!!.....

id cheer for him

I gotta agree.....as much as I hated watching him kill the Mets over the years, I gotta say he's always been one of the more classier players out there along with excelling in a hostile environment.....you gotta respect that.....

i think he's got a rare relationship with Met fans.......while he's been booed mercilessly and had a chant ("Larry") all his own i never sensed a real "hatred" per se......there always seemed to be an undercurrent of respect......and as you say Chipper handled it perfectly......he understood where it was coming from and just went with it.......he enjoyed being the "enemy" and handled it gracefully........

and don't forget he named one of his kids Shea.

>> I have to agree. He's always taken the boos, and just turned around and let it bounce off of him. If anything, he used them as fuel to excel even more.

He's a great player who I would be very surprised doesn't go in the HOF on the first ballot when he is eligble. He's a class act both on an off the field. Like him or not, and Mets fans have every reason not to, he's was of the best of his era. he deserves a standing ovation. Perhaps had Met fans given him a standing ovation, instead of what normally greeted him in NY, he might not have torn the Mets up the way he did. :-) I agree that he used the reception he got in NY as added motivation. I'm sure you know that he has done so well against the Mets he named one of kids Shea. I think that is funny. I think he bought one of the seats from Shea.

yeah, i don't blame him after all the success he had there.....

Classy thread, it's appreciated.

Not to ruin the kum-baya thing you got going on, but Chipper is a skum bag off the field. His first wife left him because he had an affair for a year and a half with a hooters waitress that produced a kid out of wedlock.

Lets not go overboard with all the 'he's such a classy guy' nonsense. the guy is definitely a first ballott hall of famer, but thats where it ends.

I've never heard the Hooters waitress thing ...

Lousy job, if true.

Of course we are talking about a wealthy athelete who did this when he was young.

His baseball-related behavior is generally classy. That's not everything, but it's not nothing either.

He's a first ballott hall of famer in my book and i'd love to have him on my team. I just think Mets fans are blinded by the fact that he named one of kids Shea.

His history as a player is rather whiney though, the guy complains more than a spoiled two year old girl.

That's why I said "generally." Actually, it took me a long time to warm up to Chipper. He's a clutz in interviews and there's the occassional eye-rolling by me. But he has moments that make me realize he's got some real maturity where it counts.

The back-loaded contracts and hometown discounts are real. His passion for the team is real. His intention to buck up or bow out is real. And he loves, I mean truly loves the game of baseball. I don't admire his character like I admire McCann's, but I love to watch him play. His personality hovers between totally classy and "why did he say that?" But mine does, too, so...

I'm a Mets fan so obviously I have no love for Larry. With that said, first ballot.

Fair enough, thanks.