For the better part of two decades, Chipper Jones has been notorious for being a Met killer. Since making his first appearance against them in 1995, Mr. Larry Wayne Jones has saved his best efforts for when he plays the Mets. In 237 games (230 starts), Jones is hitting .316 with 49 HR and 157 RBI. He also has a .411 on-base percentage and a .505 slugging percentage in 833 career at-bats versus New York.
News of Jones' retirement at the end of the 2012 season led many Mets fans to breathe a sigh of relief because there was one less Met killer to worry about. (Pat Burrell also retired earlier this year.) But it appears as if there's a new player on a division rival who's ready to take Chipper's place.
Giancarlo Cruz-Michael Stanton made his debut with the Marlins in 2010. In his first-ever game against the Mets on June 28, 2010, he hit a three-run homer. It would not be the last time he made mince meat of a Mets pitcher.
The career .268 hitter is hitting .287 against the Mets in 108 career at-bats. But it's his power that has gotten the attention of the team. Stanton has 9 HR and 25 RBI against the Mets in only 31 games (29 starts). If Chipper Jones looks scary at the plate with his .505 career slugging percentage versus New York, then what do pitchers do when they look at the scoreboard and see that Stanton is slugging a whopping .583 against them?
For 18 seasons, Mets fans have had a good reason to hate Chipper Jones, serenading the Met killer with "La-a-a-a-rry" chants every time he steps up to the plate. Now Giancarlo Stanton is taking over the role soon to be vacated by the retiring future Hall of Famer. Will chants of "Mi-i-i-i-key" soon follow?
For now, the only thing Stanton is hearing is "oohs" and "aahs" from the Citi Field faithful, especially with each long home run he hits against the Mets. Mets pitchers would rather he felt "Chipper" somewhere else.
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