Sock Watch

Sock Watch Sock Watch

Socks are up in Atlanta after a short downturn. While slightly short of record-highs, the socks hover just above mid-calf heading into the final weeks of the season. As of the mid-August report, the Chipper Jones batting average still trades over .300 and his fundamentals are sound.

"Last year was a better year for me overall," the third baseman said while meeting with "analysts" about his prospects over the final 50 games of the season. "The telling sign this year has been consistency. Last year, I was pretty consistent. I stayed up over .300 all year, and never went more than about 10 at-bats without a hit, so I stayed out of prolonged slumps."

Jones sets high standards for himself. He talks of a .300 batting average, 30 homers, 100 RBIs, and 100 runs scored. He did it last year -- ending at or near the top of every offensive category for the Braves. He also registered on the National League top 10 lists for runs scored (114), walks (87), and on-base percentage (.369).

It’s a tough pace to keep, but even with his ups and downs this season, Jones is again at or near the top of most of the offensive catagories for the Braves. He’s still on several of the National League offensive leader lists, too. He’s having a great year by any standard, but Jones doesn’t strive for numbers alone, he wants consistency.

His batting average has been more variable that he likes. At the end of an up-and-down April, Jones’ batting average was .322. By June 1, it was .277 -- he hit only .237 during the month of May. His power numbers were down, too. By June 1, he had only five homers and 33 RBIs. He had scored only 26 runs. He was still on pace for 100 RBIs, but 30 homers and 100 runs scored looked like improbabilities.

"At the beginning of the season," Jones continued, "I wasn’t really contributing all that much. The team was still winning, so my slump got overlooked. Then, all of the sudden, I started to contribute more and more."

June and July were just what Chipper ordered. A .345 average in June, with eight homers, 29 RBIs, and 24 runs, followed by a .325 July, with four homers, 24 RBIs, and 18 runs, raised him back to familiar territory with a .309 batting average on August 1.

"My numbers were very average, probably below average, coming into the month of June," he added. "All of the sudden, in a two-or three-week period, I’m back in the thick of things as far as RBIs, runs, batting average, stuff like that. This game’s a whole lot more fun when you contribute."

The numbers are down far enough in May that a radical reorganization was called for, followed by a refocusing on his core abilities. Jones called in the only man who has seen him swing the bat from day one -- his father, Larry Wayne Jones Sr.

"I thought it was best to go back to when I was 12 years old and get down here in the cage and get back into it," he explained. "We concentrated on going up the middle and going back the other way. Those are my strengths, being able to spray the ball around the field. I was caught up in hitting too many home runs and was pulling off the ball. Guys were pitching me away. I’ve got to take what those guys give me. I need to go out and produce runs."

Sometimes, getting out of the day-to-day grind and getting a new perspective is all that it takes.

"Nobody knows me better than my dad," Jones said. "He knows my philosophies, my tendencies, my fundamentals, the intricate parts of my swing. My dad knows everything. And he knows how to relay that to me."

Within a month of consultation with his father, Jones’ average was back over .300, the RBIs and the runs scored were on the increase, and he had hit three grand slams.

Injuries have been another drag on his bottom line, though. Not the big injuries, like torn ligaments or broken bones, but the little muscular ones that make it hard to get loose and stay loose.

"I don’t think people realize how many ice bags are used in here and how many Ace bandages are just holding body parts on," he said with a laugh.

The most spectacular injury Jones has faced so far was a severe bruise on his left knee sustained in a collision with Mike Mordecai.

"It looked a lot worse than it was," he remembered. "When I see it on TV, even to this day, I cringe because it looks like I sprained my ankle or my knee. It hurt -- and it hurt the next day -- but the diagnosis was a severe bruise. I refuse to let a bruise keep me out of the lineup."

The most recent obstacle Jones has had to battle is his productivity from the right side of the plate. Coming into this season, his career batting average from the right side (.292) was higher than his career average from the left side (.289). This season, he’s batting nearly 70 points lower from the right side than from the left side.

"I had a loop in my bat," Jones explained. "I was starting my hands a lot lower. Consequently, my first move would be to dip my back shoulder and try to lift the ball out of left field. Now, I’m carrying my hands a lot higher. My first move is right to the ball. It’s allowed me to quicken my bat -- I was getting beat on a lot of inside fastballs. Hopefully, that’ll stop now."

But downsizing his swing didn’t occur soon enough to keep some analysts from asking whether he should get out the switch-hitting business altogether."

Jones paused, then said, "I’ve pondered that a couple times, but that’s one of those things I’ve done since I was eight years old. It’s one of those things that got me where I am. I’m not going to give up on it right away. I know I’m a good hitter right-handed. I just had to figure out what I was doing wrong."

He had improved to .260 from the right side as of August 11 after weathering a 3-for-21 slump from the right side during most of July that took 30 points of his right-handed batting average.

"I’m still capable of 20 doubles and a few triples and five or 10 home runs every year from the right side of the plate," he added.

The changes are paying off. His batting average has remained above .300 since July 2. And, his improved hitting from both sides of the plate created a season-high 11-game hitting streak from July 25-August 4.

He’ll make the 100 RBI mark and the .300 average. Scoring 100 is still a possibility, and he’s stolen more bases this year than last. But the 30 home run goal seems out of reach. The final objective now is to be at peak efficiency down the stretch and into the playoffs.

And the socks will continue to make their moves. "When we weren’t playing well, I thought I’d switch up," he said. "So we won two games with them down. I’ll keep them there until we lose again."

By Kurt Hoyt

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