David J. Phillip / AP

Chipper Jones turns 37 in the opening weeks of the season, but he’s never been better as a hitter. Last year, the Atlanta Braves third baseman won his first batting title with a career-best .364 average.

Jones is the only everyday player left from those great Braves teams of the 1990s and early 2000s. He’d like to play his entire career in Atlanta, but knows there are no guarantees. Greg Maddux, Andruw Jones and John Smoltz all wound up playing elsewhere after long stints as his teammate.

“I would love to play here till I retire,” Jones said. “We’ll see how it works out. I know nothing is a given. I’m reminded of that every time I see one our icons go play somewhere else.”

Entering the final year of his contract, he’s had preliminary talks with the team on an extension. Those discussions should pick up steam now that the Braves have taken care of more pressing matters, signing a couple of starting pitchers (Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami) and adding another threat to the batting order (Garret Anderson).

“All things are in play right now, whether it be free agency, whether it’s getting traded, whatever,” Jones said. “Hopefully an extension will come before those other two.”

As hard as it was for Braves fans to watch someone such as Smoltz depart during the past offseason, it’s nearly impossible to envision this team without No. 10. A starting pitcher only takes the field every fifth day. Jones has been out there for nearly 1,900 games, though a series of nagging injuries have kept him from playing a full season since 2003.

Looking to stop that streak, Jones took six weeks off after the season to let his shoulder heal, then dove into a grueling workout routine. When he reported to spring training, he looked as strong and fit as any of those 20-somethings in the clubhouse.

“He’s just one of those guys who comes in every day and gets his work done,” outfielder Jeff Francoeur said. “He doesn’t say much. He just goes about it. Chipper has never been a vocal leader. He lets his playing do his talking.”

But Jones will speak out when he feels it’s necessary. After Smoltz shockingly signed with the Boston Red Sox, saying they had made a vastly superior offer to Atlanta’s, the third baseman he left behind ripped into management for letting a pillar of the franchise get away.

“I was frustrated. The fans of Atlanta were frustrated. And we vented,” Jones said. “When you’ve gone to battle for 16 years with one guy, when there’s no one you’d rather have on the mound in a must-win game, and we don’t allow him to end his career here, well, I had a problem with it.”

Jones’ criticism was muted by the signing of Lowe, Kawakami and Anderson. He met with general manager Frank Wren and patched things up. Now, they’re all focused on returning this franchise to the place it held while winning 14 straight division championships, not the wreck of a team that lost 90 games a year ago and missed the playoffs for the third season in a row.

“I feel proud that I’ve been in this uniform this long,” Jones said. “Hopefully, four or five more years will follow, then I can ride off into the sunset and call it a really good career.”

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