When Jones made his official visit to the University of Miami, Van Poppel was there too, considering whether he would commit to the Hurricanes, which Jones did. In 1990, Todd Van Poppel was the newest version of the can't-miss baseball pitching prospect. I think we were all like ‘Okay, screw you. When there was nothing left to read or eat or drink, I’d go to the back of the apartment and pull out the futon and pass out for several hours, until it was time for my new work day to begin at dusk with a shower and oatmeal and the 5:30 rerun of Charles in Charge . They picked ninth and it was unlikely that Chipper would last that long, but that was Larry Jones Sr.’s team. Since he was a Cub for a short time, I wanted an 8x10 of him in his Cubs gear, and I …
He was drafted in the first round, 14th overall, by the Athletics directly out of high school in the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft. He retired during spring training with the New York Mets in 2005. He didn’t want to sign with anyone. There remains some question as to who was all on board with Jones going number one. Right at your fingertips. There was no doubt. “It was brought up in general terms,” Hank Van Poppel, Todd’s dad, told the Braves director of scouting Paul Snyder kept calling to see if Van Poppel had changed his mind. When my friend Darrell at Halkman sports announced he would be doing a private signing with former Major Leaguer Todd Van Poppel, I knew I had to get involved with that one. The Braves took Chipper Jones, who would spend his entire 19-year career in Atlanta, with the first pick in 1990. We all heard that Todd Van Poppel didn’t want to play here,” Tom Glavine said. Larry Jones looked over at his wife, Lynne, and said, “That may have just made him the first pick in the draft.” The family and Cox didn’t discuss contract figures in their meeting. Unique perspectives on the daily sports topics that matter most. Because Van Poppel was signed to a major league contract rather than the standard minor league contract, the A's only had a limited number of minor league options they could use on him. Jan 24, 2018 at 10:43a ET Power of 10: Defining moments of Chipper Jones' careerPath To Cooperstown: 10 numbers that put Chipper Jones’ historic career into perspective Inside access. The call came at 1:22 p.m. on June 4, 1990, and Chipper Jones could finally allow himself to believe what seemed a lock after that meeting with Braves scouts. Murff, then with the Mets, scouted and signed Ryan in 1965 and only strengthened the nods to “The Ryan Express” by saying Van Poppel had the best arsenal he’d seen since Ryan. However, when Van Poppel explicitly told the Braves he would not sign with them, the team opted instead to take Chipper Jones. "All the fans come and support the teams. “I really have no doubt that if Todd Van Poppel would have shown any interest at all, he probably would have been taken by the Braves,” Jones Sr. said. He never won more than seven games in a season. After unremarkable stops in Detroit, Texas and Pittsburgh, Van Poppel did have two successful years (2000 and 2001) as a middle reliever with the Cubs, before his effectiveness declined. In 2008, Hank Aaron told the Aaron had already talked to Hank Van Poppel and knew there was no way he was signing, but Cox sought pitching and the Texas right-hander was his choice. Jones came up to bat in the first inning and hit a home run right-handed, then later hit another left-handed on the first swing, the ball landing in the street behind the park. Cory McCartney They knew each other. Moments later, Snyder came by, looking at the couple as he said, “Nice touch.” I wanted to go play in the College World Series and someday the World Series,” Van Poppel told Chipper Jones and Van Poppel were not just aware of each other and the talk of either of them going first in the draft. Todd Van Poppel was going to be great. Van Poppel's career record was 40–52. Meanwhile, Todd Van Poppel -- taken by the A's with the 14th pick -- played 11 years seasons with six different teams. “You’re looking around going ‘We’ve got some pretty good young players here. “I think we all took it personally. “He has the classic pitcher’s body.