Chipper Jones reminisces fine-tuning Braves All-Star Austin Riley's swing ahead of his big break in MLB

Austin Riley is a big part of the Atlanta Braves' future. The third baseman is an All-Star and a key reason the team has the best record in baseball and the best World Series odds. A few years ago, this wasn't the case and the jury was still out on whether or not Riley could be a good player.

Atlanta legend Chipper Jones can be given some credit for the infielder's breakout. He recently recalled helping give Riley a slight tweak on offense which translated to great success.

Jones said:

"We didn't tweak anything mechanically with Austin. There's nothing wrong with Austin's swing. We just changed his sights, you know, as opposed to trying to hit the ball out of the ballpark from left center field to the foul pole like you were talking about earlier. We got a huge State Farm sign in right center field right there in the middle of our bullpen."

Whatever advice Jones gave, and being one of the best hitters and a Hall of Famer suggests he's qualified, seemed to work. Riley has gone on to record a 120 wRC+ every year (136 or higher in two of three years) since 2020 and over 4.0 fWAR every single time.

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Chipper Jones helped unlock Austin Riley

Chipper Jones, who recently sold his house, made a huge impact on Austin Riley. The third baseman was a fine player, but he wasn't the All-Star he's morphed into since. Jones' advice seems to have turned him into an elite hitter.

Austin Riley is an All-Star

Jones continued:

"And I'm like, 'Austin, I'm telling you, if you try and knock down that State Farm sign every single pitch, a couple of things are going to happen. Your contact point's going to pick up because you're going to let the ball travel. Your bat path is going to stay in the zone longer, therefore, you're going to make more contact.

"Secondly, your chase rate on pitches outside the zone is going to go down.' Why? Because you're allowing the ball to travel. Now, that slider that's off the plate that's been giving you trouble, you see it now because your sights have changed."

Those changes seem to have made a massive impact, with opposing pitchers regretting everything Jones told Austin Riley.