In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm only four years younger than Chipper Jones. 

In fact, he shares a birthday with my late mother. 

But when I met him for the first time, I was a little shy.  Which, for me, is very odd. 

Since I was a kid, very rarely have I been star struck.  It's one reason I believe I am able to do my job as effectively as I have over the course of my career in broadcasting. 

I wouldn't say I was star struck when I first had the chance to interview Chipper Jones, but I did take pause. 

Because he's Chipper Jones. 

For those who haven't had the luxury of sitting down to talk with Jones, he is exactly as you'd presume. 

Just a regular guy. 

The public had a love affair with football's Brett Favre, who retired at the age of 41 following a 20-year career which began ... in Atlanta.  No one knew then that two decades after the Falcons drafted him, Favre would still be going strong and headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

No one knew in 1991, when Favre was drafted, that his virtual twin ... his baseball equivalent was taken No. 1 overall by the Braves one year earlier.  No one knew when Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones made his Major League debut on Sept. 11, 1993, that he, too, would have a career spanning two decades. 

One difference, of course, is Chipper will retire a Brave. 

Jones told me in spring training less than a month ago that he thought about playing this year and next, then calling it a career.  He said he'd likely go out this year if the team won him a second World Series ring. 

It turns out the man who will turn 40 on April 24 just couldn't wait that long to determine how much more his body could take. 

One of the great luxuries of my job is the ability to go into locker rooms, dressing rooms and clubhouses to talk to players before and after games.  I've always envisioned part of that job as asking questions the paying public would want to know the answers to. 

Chipper Jones has always provided those answers and provided candid conversation all at once. 

For that, I tip my cap to him. 

You see, during this entire blog, I hadn't mentioned one thing about Jones' 454 home runs (third in Braves franchise history), his 1,561 runs batted in (second), his franchise best 1,455 walks, the fact that only Henry Aaron has played more games in a Braves uniform, his seven All-Star appearances, his 1999 National League most valuable player award, his remarkable .364 batting average during the 2008 season, the fact that he did that 13 years after being part of the 1995 World Series championship team or the fact he'll go down as one of the three best switch-hitters in the long history of the sport we call baseball. 

That's because as a person, he's been just as much of a stand-up guy.  To me, he's been more than accommodating.  For that, I thank him and come to the realization there won't be very many like him from this point on.

So after the conclusion of what the Braves (and Chipper) certainly hope is a championship season, we'll only see No. 10 high above left field at Turner Field, when the Braves retire his uniform. 

Next stop ... Cooperstown.