Jackson vying for spot in Giants’ outfield
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Unlike most Giants’ players, Austin Jackson is comfortable wearing blue on the baseball diamond.
He wore navy during stints with the Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians and appeared in “classic” blue for a 29-game stretch with the Chicago Cubs. On his first day of spring training, Jackson even strolled into the home clubhouse at Scottsdale Stadium wearing a shade resembling Dodger blue. Never again. At the top of Jackson’s locker hangs a note scrawled out in marker with capital letters: DON’T WEAR BLUE.
After arriving in mid-february for spring workouts, Jackson made his Cactus League debut for the Giants in their 11-4 loss to the Angels Thursday.
A start in center field offered Jackson his first chance to develop chemistry with fellow Giants’ outfielders. Andrew Mccutchen
Associated Press The San Francisco Giants’ Austin Jackson swings against the Los Angeles Angels during Thursday’s spring training game in Scottsdale, Ariz. Jackson could win a part-time share of an open center field job, or provide depth at all three outfield positions for the Giants.
flanked him in right field and Austin Slater started in left. After he was removed, Jackson stressed how important communication is for a successful defense, and implied he planned to set the tone with a particularly vocal approach.
“Everybody has to be vocal and speak up,” Jackson said. “You can’t be shy to call anybody off if you’re confident that you can catch the ball. Just go for it and make sure they can hear you.”
On day one of the spring, Jackson’s teammates didn’t need to use their voices to communicate with the well-traveled outfielder. When he strolled in with a blue shirt, their facial expressions said it all.
The blue, Jackson realized, had to go. He penned the note, and it’s hung in the upper left corner of his locker ever since.
The Giants are Jackson’s sixth different team, and over the course of his career, he’s fulfilled a variety of roles. Once a young center fielder on a Detroit club that lost to the Giants in the 2012 World Series, Jackson said he took daily pointers from Hall of Famer Al Kaline. In Cleveland last year, Jackson became the jack-of-all trades utility man, offering advice for up-and-coming Indians outfielder Bradley Zimmer.
“I told Zimmer if you can get to it, it’s your outfield,” Jackson said. “With him being a little younger, sometimes I think he didn’t want to step on my toes. But I told him, ‘Hey, you’re the center fielder.”