Athletics’ phenom Jacob Wilson debuting at Giants’ ‘beautiful ballpark with Coke bottle’
SAN FRANCISCO Shortstop Jacob Wilson played just games at the Oakland Coliseum last season then the Athletics moved out denying the Bay Area a true chance to watch one of baseball s majority of exciting prospects At least now the Giants are hosting him and the Athletics this weekend for his Oracle Park debut I definitely like the outfield stuff the Coke bottle and stuff it s known for Wilson announced before Friday s opener I ve heard it gets cold at night so you have to mentally prepare for that Otherwise it s a beautiful ballpark and you just go out there and play The Giants ballpark is not entirely new to him He visited with the A s last July solely as an observer to that loss because of a hamstring injury from his major-league debut on July He also came to the Giants home for a sparse games when his dad Jack was a Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop - Speaking of a funny thing happened on the way into San Francisco for this series I called him last night and he was like I just want to let you know I got one home run there Because he didn t get one at Dodger Stadium Indeed among the home runs in Jack Wilson s -year big-league career he belted a two-out two-run shot to left field against the Giants Jerome Williams on Aug Jacob Wilson was months old Now the younger Wilson hit two home runs Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium in his Southern California homecoming having grown up in Thousand Oaks like his father With two other hits in that series-opening win he became the first visiting rookie to tally four hits and two home runs in a event there Hey Giants fans surely will root for anyone who contributes to the Beat L A cause It was super special for me especially being able to have family there and being able to go back home declared Wilson the sixth overall pick in the draft He entered this series with the majors third-best batting average and second-most hits He also had the second-lowest strikeout rate before fanning at Logan Webb s -mph sweeper to open Friday s ballgame Wilson grounded out to second base his next two at-bats stranding runners at the corners in the top of the fifth He entered Friday with a majors-best average with runners in scoring position His start to his season has been great A s manager Mark Kotsay explained Anytime a young player can get out and have a great April and continue to build on that it helps his confidence not that he s not a confident kid We re watching him continue to get better daily and continue to work in a facet that s very exemplary General manager David Forst was just as complimentary We mentioned when we drafted him we thought he had a unique skillset You see his strikeout numbers in college and hope it works as he climbs up the ladder Jacob is a guy who knows how to get the bat to the ball I m thrilled for his early success Wilson kept the A s from falling further behind Friday night when down - he made a diving stop on a Willy Adames infield single in the sixth inning Wilson began his career with a -game errorless streak though four errors ensued between April - He also began it with a hamstring strain en course to his first time traveling the plate for a run having reached earlier on a single for his first major-league hit in that July win over the Angels We ve put emphasis on in order to be a complete big leaguer you have to take care of your body as much off the field as you do on the field and he s really adapted to that Kotsay added As for how he s adapting so well to the majors well he hit over just games in the minors You try to go up there and look for a mistake Wilson revealed Everybody is human so they are going to leave a mistake here and there It s your job as a hitter to capitalize on it and go up and have competitive at-bats fight off pitches that are good and wait for mistakes Added Forst I don t have a great explanation for it other than he s done this everywhere he s been in his baseball career and it continues to work He ll work two more games at Oracle Park p m Saturday p m Sunday before the Athletics take their road show elsewhere including to their temporary digs in West Sacramento where they relocated until a Las Vegas stadium supposedly opens in three years Hopefully we get a lot of the old fans that come back and drive over the bridge to come see us play Wilson revealed I ll just come out and enjoy it Related Articles Flores hits three homers as SF Giants rout A s in return to Bay Area Giants Athletics start new version of Bay Bridge Series minus Oakland touch SF Giants Fitzgerald returns to lineup from left rib fracture Bay Area Sports HoF Montgomery reflects on success calls on Stanford Cal to figure out what it takes in NIL Oakland fan groups aren t flocking to see Athletics play SF Giants this weekend This was where his dad played his final match with the Pirates going -for- with a walk on July He was then traded to Seattle and ultimately finished his career in with that Atlanta Braves Jack Wilson played games at the Giants ballpark batting -for- with one home run and six RBI Dad s tips for this series He disclosed to keep the ball on the ground hit low line drives the younger Wilson noted With the wind here it picks up pretty good so guys that don t hit the ball very far keep it on the ground
