Doc, no kidding...Last night I actually had the thought that he looked like a Branyan-morph-Ichiro. (Branyan because of the wrap and Ichiro because he stays on the ball so exceptionally well). But The Thrill is a better comparison. Bonus pints to you.
I think the most impressive thing I saw him do with the bat was foul off the first 0-2 pitch he saw in his first AB. Man, that ball was by him, nearly in the mitt...and he still wasted it.
It was a wicked pitch. He kept the AB alive. And on that pitch and on the following one, the single, his finished looked eerily Ichiro-like.
In the modern game, most batters are taught to have a wider stance, use a piston-like up-down front-foot movement that triggers an explosion of the hips. Or something like that.
There was a classic throwback sense to Ackley's slide/glide-move to the ball.
Will Clark certainly. Musial-like? Maybe.
S-I-L-K-Y S-M-O-O-T-H? Undeniably!
I don't think Hank Aaron had as much bat wrap...but he had that same smooth slide.
Not saying, of course, that Ackley is The Man or The Hammer. He isn't, of course. Hey, those guys are arguable two of the 5 greatest hitters in the history of the game....but he sure slides/glides into the ball in a way that reminds me of them.
Betcha dollars to donuts that tonight we see Kennedy at 3B and Carp + Halman, as well.
A VERY INTERESTING lineup!
Ackley? Needless to say, I am quite smitten.
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