Riley carrying Chipper’s legacy as Met killer

Eleven years after Chipper Jones retired, Austin Riley has picked up the mantle as Destroyer of the New York Mets

As the Braves showered 40 runs in last weekend’s four-game series on the Mets, Austin Riley bashed the ball all around Citi Field – bringing flashbacks of Chipper Jones hushing Shea Stadium in his days as Atlanta’s third baseman.

11 years after Jones hung ‘em up, Riley is cooking up something similar against Atlanta’s division foes in his fifth season in the MLB. Last weekend, he went 6-for-17 with seven runs scored, two homers, two walks and five RBI.

Mets fans aren’t chanting Austin’s name yet, as they chanted “Larry! Larry! Larry,” Chipper’s birth name, as he walked to the plate. Those days might be coming, though, if he keeps tormenting the Mets at this pace.

Jones hit .309 with 265 hits, 99 extra-base hits, 49 homers, 159 RBI and 265 runs scored with a .406/.543/.949 slash line in 245 career games against the Mets. 19 homers in Shea Stadium, the Mets’ home before Citi Field, was the most for Jones in any road ballpark.

On the other hand, Riley is just getting started with a .297 batting average, 69 hits, 18 homers, 38 RBI and 49 runs scored with a .364/.582/.946 slash line in 63 games versus the Mets. What draws such comparison, though, is the moments the two Atlanta third baseman have come through in to help drown the Mets.

The Division Race

“We’re coming for ‘em,” Riley famously said in a post-game interview last September before hunting down the Mets for the team’s fifth consecutive NL East title in 2022.

We all know the story. The Braves trailed the Mets by 10.5 games in the NL East to begin June 2022, and the Braves marched all the way back to snatch their fifth consecutive division title. The glorious run was capped off by a sweep of the Mets in the next-to-last series of the season before the Braves clinched the title versus the Marlins in the coming days.

In that series, Riley went 4-for-8 while scoring a timely run in each game, and it was Riley who got the party started in that huge sweep of the Mets in Truist Park. In the second inning of game one, Riley answered the Mets’ run to open the scoring with a 422-foot, solo blast off of Jacob DeGrom to even the score.

Olson followed Riley by going 430 feet for a back-to-back shot, and the next day, Olson drove in Riley in the fourth inning to answer a Mets first-inning run. In game three, Riley scored the decisive go-ahead run on a Travis D’Arnaud single to seal the sweep.

Jones sparked his team over the Mets the same way.

“Now all the Mets fans can go home and put their Yankees stuff on,” Jones famously said in a post-game interview in 1999 after sweeping the Mets.

When he said that, he had just completed a four-homer series that helped the Braves sweep the Mets and extend the division lead to eight games with nine games remaining in 1999. The lead had been one game just 10 days earlier, but the Braves took five-of-six from the Mets and swept Montreal to put it out of reach for New York.

But before they were bona fide Mets slayers, the two third baseman jumpstarted their careers against the Mets.

Making a Name

Jones became a Mets tormenter early in his career. His first career homer was a game-winner off of the Mets in 1995.

After missing the 1994 season with a torn ACL, Jones had to reintroduce himself to the MLB after making his debut at the end of 1993. He did so accordingly, leading off the ninth inning by crushing a Josias Manzanillo fastball from the left side, resulting in a 3-2 Braves victory in the 13th game of the season.

Before he had even cemented himself as the Braves’ third baseman, he was filling in in the outfield, just like Riley did in 2019.

In his first Citi Field at bat in June 2019 after debuting in May, Riley launched a 98 MPH DeGrom fastball far into the left field seats for a two-run shot in a game one win. The very next day, he hit a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning off Seth Lugo to give the Braves a 5-4 lead and a series win.

The World Series Runs

There is no bigger stage than the World Series. Jones and Riley both paved the way for the Braves to get there in Atlanta’s two most recent titles, and that meant trucking the Mets in the process.

Riley has put up some great numbers versus the Mets, but none better than in the 2021 season en route to the World Series. In his first full season as the Braves’ third baseman, he took the Mets deep seven times with 19 RBI, going 23-for-67 with 49 total bases in 19 games. This includes a two-homer game with a grand slam in a 12-5 win in July. He slugged an insane .731 against the Mets that year. He has only further cemented his starting job since then.

Chipper’s 1995 season was remarkable and the start was historic, but his 1999 season really stamped him as a villain in New York. Along with his four-homer, division-sealing series, he slugged 1.000 with seven homers and 16 RBI while going 16-for-40 with 40 total bases against the Mets that year leading up to the Braves’ World Series loss.

Jones exemplified consistency in his 19-year MLB career, and now the shoes are Riley’s to fill. He has things down pat against the Mets, and his dominance in division play is helping him find consistency early in his career.

Upcoming Showdowns

In his fourth season as the starting third baseman, Riley is 15-for-41 with three homers versus the Mets, tying the Marlins for the second-most he has against any team this year (four versus Phillies, Brewers and Diamondbacks).

The Braves only see the Mets for one more three-game series this season. After hosting the Yankees and Giants, the Mets will be the finale of a nine-game homestand for the Braves, starting next Monday, August 21.

Sitting at 28 homers after he hit 38 and 33 the past two seasons, there is reason to expect more in that series. His best months have been in July and August, when he has posted .962 and .982 OPS’ with nine and four homers so far, respectively.

His recent success, along with two homers in the recent series with New York, gives a glimpse of things to come for the newest Mets slayer.

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