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Chipper Jones best switch-hitter of his era: batting higher than .300 with goodpower, braves slugger challenges pitchers from both sides of the plate.(Cover story)
- Article from:
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Baseball Digest
- Article date:
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August 1, 2008
- Author:
- Rogers, Carroll
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Copyright informationCOPYRIGHT 2008 Century Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE IDEA WAS BORN BEFORE Chipper Jones was, when the "old block" was just a chip himself.
Larry Wayne Jones Sr. was a kid in Baltimore when he fell in love with the switch-hitting Yankee Mickey Mantle. He saw the power Mantle could generate left-handed from the right field bleachers at Memorial Stadium.
"He hit a line drive that went over our head like a rocket," Larry Jones said.
Like Mutt Mantle taught his son, Larry taught his only son Chipper to switch-hit in the backyard in Pierson, Florida. Now, 15 years into his career, Jones is in Mantle territory as one of the best switch-hitters ever.
Through June 1, he was two home runs shy of reaching 400 for his ...