Chipper Jones Knocks Cover Off Baseball

February 1 2011 Last updated at 04:42 PM ET

If you consider a striking resemblance to Roy Hobbs to be a positive thing in a baseball player, it would seem that Chipper Jones' recovery from knee surgery is going quite well.

Jones was taking batting practice at Turner Field on Tuesday morning when he caught one just right and literally knocked the cover off the ball. Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a picture of the ruined baseball while Jones did a little a bit of crowing after his big connection.

"That's what you've got to look forward to this year," he said.

While that seems unlikely, the fact that Jones was in the cage and stroking the ball (hitting from the left side, by the way) is a good sign that he's going to be ready to go when the pitches start counting for real. Now he just needs to work on the rest of his game.

Jones hasn't done any running or fielding since suffering his season-ending injury last August. He plans to start doing agility drills this week, but won't do any work with a glove until the start of spring training. Because he ended the year on the disabled list, Jones will report along with pitchers and catchers on Valentine's Day. He told The Associated Press that he plans to be out there that day and every other day until he proves that he's still the same Chipper Jones we've always known.

"I don't want to miss a day of work in spring training because I have a limited time to prove to everybody else -- and myself -- that I can go out there and play and be the Opening Day third baseman," Jones said.

That shouldn't be too hard. The Braves lineup will be in rough shape if Jones isn't able to answer the bell so he's going to be given every chance to show that his 38-year-old bones still have baseball left in them.

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