Chipper Jones is returning to baseball as an analyst as he has signed on with ESPN to cover 20 games during their “Wednesday Night Baseball” broadcasts according to an exclusive report by Carroll Walton for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Jones will replace David Ross who left ESPN to become manager of the Chicago Cubs. He will be paired in the booth with Jon “Boog” Sciambi.
Jones has dabbled in broadcasting since retiring and told Walton that he has always had a an interest in communications.
“A lot of people don’t know this, but if I hadn’t played baseball, if I had gone to college, I would have majored in communications,” said Jones, who was the No. 1 overall pick of the draft by the Braves in 1990. “I wanted to be a broadcaster. I really have fun talking the game. I feel like I have something to impart upon the people tuning in, and I have fun doing it. I get the chance to do it on probably the biggest stage you can, maybe next to ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ (on ESPN).”
By taking on this role, Jones will give up his role as a special assistant with the Braves. Per the report, there is still a possibility that he will sign on to do some work on some of the Braves regional broadcasts with Fox Sports.