Braves Wanted Van Poppel, Glad They Got Chipper Jones Instead

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Atlanta -- The Atlanta Braves had the No. 1 pick in the June 1990 free agent draft and knew who they wanted_Todd Van Poppel, the most coveted player in the nation.

Scouts were drooling after watching the 6-foot-5 right hander throw 90 mph fastballs during his three years at Martin High School in Arlington, Texas, where he was 25-7 with 298 strikeouts in 202 innings.

But the 18-year-old Van Poppel told the Braves to take a walk. The kid with the 4.0 grade-point average was going to the University of Texas and then to the 1992 Olympics.

"We were very high on him, as was everyone else, but right from the start he said he wasn't going to sign," said Braves manager Bobby Cox, who was then Atlanta's general manager. "He said he was going to school."

So, instead of taking a chance on Van Poppel, Cox made another 18-year-old high school standout the No. 1 pick.

As it turned out, shortstop Larry Wayne Jones_better known as Chipper_wasn't much of a gamble.

Jones is now a mainstay of the Braves, their No. 3 hitter and a leader in the clubhouse. The third baseman is hitting near .300 and is among the National League's RBI leaders so far in 1997.

Van Poppel, on the other hand, is struggling in the minors.

"It was an easy decision," Cox said last week as the Braves' scouts prepared for this year's three-day draft, which begins Tuesday.

"We're thrilled to death with Chipper Jones right now," he said. "It's worked out. He's something special."

Jones hit .488 as a senior at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., and was named Florida's high school player of the year.

He expected to be one of the first six picks in 1990, but didn't anticipate being No. 1.

"Everybody knew Van Poppel was the prize. Everybody else was second," said Jones, now 25.

But it was Jones who ended up No. 1.

Van Poppel was the 14th player chosen, by Oakland. He never went to Texas, instead agreeing to a then-record $1.2 million signing bous over three years with the A's.

After missing most of the 1992 season with a strained right shoulder, Van Poppel moved into Oakland's starting rotation midway through 1993, but had little success. He was released by the A's last season and finished the year with Detroit. In parts of five major-league seasons, he had a 20-33 record and a 6.22 ERA in 113 games.

This spring, Van Poppel was released by the Anahiem Angles and picked up by the Kansas City Royals, who sent him to their Class AAA club at Omaha. In six starts there, he was 1-4 and was demoted to the bullpen. Through seven appearances, he had a 9.71 ERA and allowed 10 home runs in 29 2-3 innings.

"I knew he was a dynamic prospect, but he came to the major leagues before he was ready and it worked against him," said St. Louis mananger Tony LaRussa, who was Van Poppel's manager at Oakland.

"He never had the benefit of developing in the minors. It was very unfortunate. He was asked to be a big-leaguer before he was ready."

That didn't happen with Jones, who was brought up through the Braves' farm system one step at a time.

In 1991, Jones hit .326 at Class A Macon. The next year, he hit .277 at Durham in a tougher Class A league and .346 at AA Greenville. In 1993, he hit .325 at Class AAA Richmond.

Jones was set to open the 1994 season as the Braves' starting left-fielder, but he suffered a knee injury in spring training and missed that year. He hit .265 with 23 homers and 86 RBIs as a rookie in 1995 and .309 with 30 homers and 110 RBIs last season.

"I think the Braves did a good job of letting me succeed at each level," Jones said. "When the time was right, they moved me up."

Jones said he believes a combination of things went wrong for Van Poppel.

"I think maybe he was rushed to the big leagues, wasn't ready and maybe lost his confidence," he said. "Then he tried to impress too much and got hurt."

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