Part of what helped land Hall of Famer Chipper Jones a job on ESPN’s Wednesday Night Baseball for the upcoming season was his relationship with ESPN play-by-play man Jon “Boog” Sciambi, who covered Jones as a Braves TV broadcaster from 2007-09.
Both ESPN’s audience and its higher-ups got a glimpse of their chemistry during a three-inning cameo last May when Sciambi invited Jones to sit in with him and color man David Ross during a Braves-Cardinals game at SunTrust Park.
During one exchange, Sciambi told a story about how the former Braves third baseman once stepped out of the batter’s box in the middle of an at-bat and glared up at Sciambi in the TV booth over a question he’d asked Jones about swinging at first-pitch strikes. Sciambi came prepared with video footage to back it up. A clip of the hysterical back-and-forth went viral online and on social media.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported Jones' hiring by ESPN as a color analyst in an exclusive report on Saturday. ESPN made it official with an announcement on Monday.
“As funny as the story turned out to be, it’s an example of why I’m so fired up to work with him,” Sciambi said. “It’s like putting coins in a machine. I would give him information, and there is no player that I consistently covered that would give me better, more thoughtful reasoned answers than him. There was always a plan, there was always a thought. And that (anecdote in the booth) was just the intersection of it.”
Jones is slated to work 20 games, taking over for Ross, the former backup Braves catcher who left the network to become manager for the Chicago Cubs. Jones is expected to be paired up with Sciambi for a majority of those games.
Jones will debut as part of ESPN's opening day coverage on March 26, as the game analyst for the San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers telecast at 4 p.m. He will be in the booth for two more opening week games in the New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays telecast on March 30, at 7 p.m. and the Washington Nationals home opener against the New York Mets on April 2, at 1 p.m.
“We’ll have fun,” Sciambi said. “And I should be able to make him laugh.”
Sciambi said by his second year broadcasting Braves games for SportSouth and FSN South in 2008, he had developed a deeper trust with Jones - one that got him some behind-the-scenes insight into the lynchpin of the Braves’ offense. Sciambi loves telling a story about a time when the Braves were in Miami to play the Marlins and he asked Jones if he could hang out and watch him play a pre-game round of backgammon against his teammate and fellow future Hall of Famer John Smoltz.
“John was kicking Chipper’s butt,” Sciambi said. “And Chipper rolled double 6’s like umpteen times and came back and beat him. He yelled and pumped his fist. I’d never seen him that excited before. And when it was done, I said, ‘Dude, I’ve never seen you that excited, even on the field.’ He gets a big smile on his face and he points at Smoltzie and goes, ‘What can I say? He’s my New York Mets.’”
Sciambi said he approached Jones later and asked him if he could tell the anecdote during a Braves broadcast, and Jones obliged. It’s that openness, as well as Jones’ storytelling ability and insights into the game, that Sciambi thinks makes him a great fit in this spot.
“I’m excited,” Sciambi said. “I’d be really surprised if he didn’t just kill this. I think Chipper will be great.”
