led the National League East by only one game as they entered a three-game September series against the Mets, the team that was right on their heels. Atlanta swept the series at Turner Field, though, largely thanks to Jones, who hit four home runs and drove in seven of the 13 runs that the Braves scored. For the season, he hit .319 with a .510 on-base percentage, a 1.000 slugging percentage, and seven home runs against the Mets. During the 1999 NLCS, Jones drew the ire of Mets fans by saying, "Now, all the Mets fans can go home and put their Yankees' stuff on." In the playoffs, Jones led the Braves to the World Series against the New York Yankees, in which the Braves were swept. 2000–2005 Jones signed a six-year, $90 million contract with the Braves in 2000. Jones batted .330 in 2001, 5th best in the league, and led the league with a .349 road batting average. On his 29th birthday, he hit two home runs. On defense, however, his range factor of 2.14 placed him last among the regular major league third basemen who qualified for the fielding ranking. In 2001, a season of flux for the Braves who had won the NL East every year since their 1995 World Series victory, Jones was involved in a public "lingering feud" with former teammate John Rocker. Rocker referred to Jones on the radio by saying "Chip's white trash" and "as two-faced as they came." By late June, the two claimed they had made peace. Before the start of the 2002 season, Jones announced his willingness to move from third base to left field, to make room for the incoming Vinny Castilla. Jones proved adequate in left field, but following two more early playoff exits in 2002 and 2003, a hamstring pull in the early 2004 season and the struggles of third baseman Mark DeRosa, he moved back to his regular position of third base. In 2002, he batted .327, again 5th best in the NL. Jones was third in the league with a .435 on-base percentage. On August 16, 2004, he hit the 300th home run of his career in a 5–4 victory over the San Diego Padres. Following the 2005 season, Jones reworked his contract with the Braves—freeing up money for the Braves to pursue elite free agents, while virtually ensuring he would end his career