I understand that he is really enjoying being a dad right now, but the Atlanta Braves need Chipper Jones to manage this club, or at least be their every day hitting coach. For whatever reason, it has not mattered what Tim Hyers has said this year, or what Kevin Seitzer said last year, very little has clicked with the big bats of the Braves. Look no further than the struggles Michael Harris II endured.
In David O’Brien’s latest for The Athletic, he went into great detail about what all has gone into Harris’ second-half surge. He was arguably the worst position player in baseball heading into the All-Star Break. Since the Midsummer Classic at Truist Park, Harris has been arguably the hottest hitter in baseball. Apparently, it all comes down to something Jones told Harris about how to fix his swing.
Harris has raised his hands back to where they were at the start of his career with the help of Jones.
“Chipper told me it’s better to swing up to down than down to up, so being up there is a good thing. And I feel like everything’s been a lot cleaner since then and I haven’t had to think as much.”
Harris infamously tried to recreate what Ronald Acuña Jr. does from the other side of the plate…
“It felt a little weird, like my hands were way higher than they actually were, because my hands were down for the past three years.”
I appreciate Harris having enough self-awareness here to make this big correction to save his career.
“We were trying to find something and trying to get those hands in the right spot. And ultimately it came down to me just saying, all right, I’m just going to raise them up. It can’t hurt. I was doing it my whole life, so if I made the change to moving down after getting called up, why not be able to go back up now?”
On the other side of the coin, nothing Hyers has said or done has resonated with any of the players…
Michael Harris II’s second-half turnaround is thanks to Chipper Jones
Look. I appreciate Harris putting in the work to make himself into one helluva ballplayer once again. This is the guy who won NL Rookie of the Year only three years ago. While fellow rookie teammate Spencer Strider’s career is starting to unravel, maybe a return to what made him good could be great? In the vein of Harris’ renaissance, I will suggest injecting some Stache ‘N Gas into the bullpen…
Meanwhile, just because the Braves are starting to play better baseball of late does not mean I will forgive the nightly managerial malpractice put forth by Brian Snitker and his stooges of buffoonery. We all know that general manager Alex Anthopoulos has had both hands tied behind his back because of ownership. He has picked out quality players. Yet for whatever reason, the coaches stink!
It may be some combination of the message growing stale, or it could be a bunch of old guys in uniforms who peaked athletically in high school trying to tell other full-grown men what to do. In the end, Jones is the smartest baseball I have ever talked to. As the years pass since he last played, we have all come to realize how lucky we are to have him to learn from. Chipper, the Braves need you…
The year from hell is almost over, but I cannot for the life of me say I want to run it back with Snitker.
