Former Atlanta Braves star Chipper Jones joins ESPN as MLB analyst

March 2 (UPI) -- Former Atlanta Braves star and Baseball Hall of Fame third baseman Chipper Jones joined ESPN as a Major League Baseball analyst, the network announced Monday.

The former Braves slugger will make his ESPN debut on opening day, when the San Francisco Giants play the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 26 at Dodger Stadium. According to ESPN, he will contribute primarily to weeknight and holiday games.

Jones served as a guest analyst for ESPN's coverage of MLB on two occasions last season.

"We had the opportunity to work with Chipper in a guest analyst capacity last season and we were instantly impressed," ESPN senior coordinating producer Phil Orlins said in a statement Monday. "In addition to his well-known Hall of Fame credentials, it was clear that he is a charismatic storyteller with an authentic and fun-loving personality.

"He has tremendous passion for the sport and he's still very connected to the current game. He's one of baseball's all-time greats and he will strengthen our overall MLB coverage."

Jones, 47, spent his entire 19-year MLB career with the Braves and retired after the 2012 season. He had a .303 career batting average with 468 home runs, 1,623 RBIs and 2,726 hits.

Jones was an eight-time All-Star selection and won a World Series with the Braves in 1995. He also captured the NL MVP trophy in 1999 and won the Silver Slugger Award twice.