Report: Chipper Jones played part in the turnaround of Michael Harris II

In one of the most remarkable turnarounds, Michael Harris II has gone from arguably the worst offensive player in all of baseball to the best in the span of a couple of months. 

Harris hit just a tick over the Mendoza Line with a .551 OPS in the first half of the season. In the second half, he’s hitting .398 with a 1.114 OPS. In just 30 games, Harris has already surpassed his first-half home run total and nearly matched his extra-base hit tally, which took him 93 games to compile.

Harris credits a key mechanical change — raising his hands closer to his shoulder — as the driving force behind the surge.

“In the middle of the season, it’s tough to make that kind of adjustment,” Harris said, via Mark Bowman of MLB.com. “But, you can’t be scared to do it, especially when you’re not getting the results you want and it’s not really helping the team. So I took the risk, and it’s paying off.”

Braves hitting coach Tim Hyers has been working with Michael Harris all season in attempt to get his hands to the position they are at right now, but he wasn’t alone. Chipper Jones also had some advice for the Braves centerfielder.

“Chipper told me it’s better to swing up to down than down to up, so being up there is a good thing,” Harris said, via David O’Brien of The Athletic. “And I feel like everything’s been a lot cleaner since then and I haven’t had to think as much.”

That nugget only fuels the conversation about Chipper’s role with the franchise. For fans who’d love to see him more involved — perhaps even replacing Brian Snitker as manager someday — it’s hard not to imagine the ripple effect his influence could have on the entire roster.

Jones, one of the greatest hitters this game has ever seen and the embodiment of the “Braves way,” has downplayed the idea of managing, citing the immense time commitment. But if he ever reconsidered, it’s difficult to think of a better candidate to guide the Braves than their Hall of Fame third baseman.