3 Chipper Jones Moments That Ruined Mets Fans' Lives

The New York Mets couldn't have been more relieved to see Chipper Jones retire after the 2012 season. To say that the Atlanta Braves legend feasted on the Mets would a colossal understatement.

Jones played the Amazins 245 times in his Hall of Famer career. In those games, he hit a mind-boggling .309/.406/.543 with 49 home runs, 46 doubles, and 159 RBI. Those are unsurprisingly his career-best numbers against any team. It seemed that Chipper would always step into the dish when the Braves needed a big hit. All fans in Queens could do is sit and wait for the killer blow to be delivered. There's a reason that Jones named his daughter Shea: he loved nothing more than playing at Shea Stadium, the Mets' former home ballpark.

Here are three specific times that the eight-time All-Star turned Mets fans lives upside down.

3. First Career Home Run in 1995

It's only fitting that we include the inception of Jones' reign of terror on Queens. The former NL MVP's first career home run just so happened to come against New York. On May 9, 1995, Jones launched a moonshot of a game-winning solo blast to right field in the eighth inning to give Atlanta a 3-2 victory. For good measure, Chipper clubbed another home run the very next game. These blasts commenced the prolonged era (19 years) of Jones feasting on Mets pitching.

2. Home Run Off Steve Trachsel in 2005 With Mets Clinging to a Wild Card Spot

In the heat of the 2005 Wild Card race, the Mets found themselves 2.5 games back. They entered Game 1 of a series against the Braves that was tied 2-2 entering the eighth inning. With a man on base, Jones uncorked a two-run home run off Steve Trachsel to give Atlanta a 4-2 victory. New York ended up getting swept, which pushed them out of playoff contention. Chipper's dinger was a dagger to the hearts of Mets fans, who were left without playoff baseball yet again thanks to the Braves bopper.

1. When He Helped the Braves Clinch the NL East in 1999

In the closing weeks of the 1999 season, the Mets crawled back to within one game of the Braves in the NL East race. On Sept. 21, the clubs began a stretch during which they faced each other six times in a 10-day span. Atlanta finished 5-1, and Jones played a prominent role in that success by mashing four home runs in three games in the first series. He produced three hits and a few more RBI in the next meeting. In all, Jones reached base 14 times in those six contests. Mets fans will remember his savage response to getting jeered at Shea after he pushed New York to the brink of elimination. "Now all the Mets fans can go home and put their Yankee stuff on," he said. The wound is still fresh.