One Jackson Impressed With Another

From Pat Borzi:

Reggie Jackson beat the Yankees prospect Austin Jackson into the clubhouse Tuesday night, and it was hard to tell who was happier. Jackson, the youngster, pulled a full-count pitch high over the left-field foul pole for a grand slam in the eighth inning. But Jackson, the icon, paraded around the clubhouse with an equally wide smile.

“I felt like I hit one,” he said after the Yankees’ 7-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

Every season, Reggie Jackson, a Yankees special adviser, gravitates to a hitter whose style he likes. Sometimes it is a veteran like David Justice. In this case, it is Jackson, 22, an eighth-round pick from 2005 who turned down a basketball scholarship to Georgia Tech to sign with the Yankees. Baseball America rated him as the organization’s top prospect coming into the season.
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Jackson said Reggie Jackson worked with him on driving the ball in hitter’s counts instead of settling for contact. On Tuesday night, Austin Jackson said he heard Reggie urging him on from the dugout.

“When it was 3-2, Reggie kept saying, ‘Get him!’ ” Austin Jackson said. “It’s something he always says when I’m up there.”

After the game, Austin Jackson found himself surrounded by reporters. When that session broke up, Reggie Jackson walked over for a not-quite-private teachable moment. Reggie Jackson put his hand at neck level and said, “If you chased the ball up here, you’d be all alone.” With his eyes, Austin Jackson acknowledged the message about pitch selection, and patience.

Also in the article, Joe Girardi hinted that there was a chance we could see A-Jax in the pros as soon as this season:

“If he make the progression he made from last spring training, we may see him at some point this year,” Girardi said of Jackson, who was sent to the Yankees’ minor league camp after the game. “You never know.”

And Cashman had this to say:

“He had a terrific camp,” General Manager Brian Cashman said. “He left last night with a big smile. He feels very good about what he did and what he accomplished. He continues to open eyes.”

This sure looked like breakout camp for A-Jax. .333/.385/.667, with 3 HR, 10 RBI, a double, a triple, and 2 stolen bases is a damn fine spring training. Besides opening the eyes of scouts and fans, he may have opened the eyes of two much more important people; Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman.

I really hope one day soon the Yankees have an outfield with both Jackson and Gardner in it. Those two would catch anything hit in the air.