Former Braves catcher recalls hilarious interaction with Chipper Jones

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Atlanta Braves fans are lucky to have a team with such a storied history. There are plenty of legendary players to reminisce and sometimes those players give a brief insight into shenanigans that goes on in the clubhouse.

The 2021 season was a roller coaster for the Braves as things looked bleak ahead of the All-Star break. Their star player was out for the season and the team struggled to reach .500 during the first half. That all changed once Alex Anthopoulos made a few impact trades to help get the team in the right direction. This ultimately ended in a World Series win over the Astros.

One thing fans may have forgotten from that season is the plethora of catchers the Braves cycled through in 2021. Seven different catchers appeared for Atlanta that season including Travis d'Arnaud, William Contreras, Alex Jackson, Jeff Mathis, Kevan Smith, Stephen Vogt, and Jonathan Lucroy.

Lucroy only played two games with the Braves so if you forgot he appeared with the team that season, don't feel too bad. His last hit in Major League Baseball happened during one of those games. He was designated for assignment after Atlanta acquired Stephen Vogt.

He was once one of the top backstops in the game as he appeared in two All-Star games during his time with the Brewers from 2010-2016. Lucroy slashed .284/.342/.436 with 79 homers and 387 RBI during his time in Milwaukee. However, after the 2016 season, things didn't go very well for him. He struggled from 2017-2021, joining 8 teams during that span.

Lucroy has been very active on social media lately and engaging with fans. Answering their questions and recalling stories from his career. Recently, he broke down a memory from his rookie season in 2010 when he crossed paths with an Atlanta icon.

Jonathan Lucroy's first interaction with Braves legend Chipper Jones was comedy gold

He mentioned the first time he encountered Hall of Fame third baseman Chipper Jones before his first game at Turner Field. This would have been July 15, 2010.

Before the game, Lucroy was in the hallway near the visitor's clubhouse going over his scouting report with his pitching coach.

He stated the wildest thing that happened when they got to Chipper Jones on the scouting report. Chipper walks down the hall at the exact moment they begin to go over their plan on how to pitch him. Lucroy states that Chipper walked past them and asked, "So how are you going to pitch me today?". He said Chipper just kept walking after saying that and his pitching coach mentioned throwing him all knuckleballs. Pitching to Atlanta's third baseman was no easy task.

Lucroy was apparently star-struck as he didn't say anything in return to Jones. He stated, "...
the last time I had seen him in person I was 10 years old, and I was a little shocked at the timing of his entrance."

I think we all understand how that would feel if you were an MLB rookie and a living legend walked past you and asked your plan to get him out during the game. Lucroy mentioned he still thinks about how impeccable Chipper's timing was. True to form, Chipper responded to his post stating, "Can't hurt to ask...No? That's funny."

So, how did that scouting report work out for Lucroy and the Brewers? The Braves hit two home runs during the game to win 2-1. Martin Prado and Chipper each homered in the third inning. Jair Jurrjens pitched 6.2 innings allowing one run while Peter Moylan and Jonny Venters pitched scoreless innings to allow Billy Wagner to earn the save in the ninth.

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