SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS ACE SERVED AS 'HYPE-MAN' FOR UNSUNG HERO
The San Francisco Giants are looking for a spark to turn their season around after they have had a disappointing showing to date when there were expectations they would be a playoff team this year following their offseason acquisitions.
Injuries have made it hard for this group to get into a rhythm, which is a main reason why there are trying to find a group who can piece together solid performances on a consistent basis so they can get back into the Wild Card mix.
When they called up Brett Wisely from their Triple-A affiliate, he was one they hoped would be able to make an impact.
Having gotten an opportunity in 2023, there was no real indication he might be able to provide that for the Giants after he slashed .175/.231/.267 with seven extra-base hits and eight RBI across 51 games.
Acquired by San Francisco in December 2022 via a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, he was considered their 24th-best prospect coming into that season.
Following his underwhelming showing, it was unknown if he would ever become a viable option for the Giants at the Major League level.
That changed this year, though.
Wisely is slashing .296/.325/.444 with three homers, 10 extra-base hits and 15 RBI across his 33 games this season. That includes hitting a walk-off home run against their archrival Los Angeles Dodgers on June 28.
So, how has he turned things around this year?
It turns out all he needed was a little pep talk from San Francisco's ace Logan Webb.
"Logan was just telling me, 'Hey, man, just be you, you seem a little tense up there at the plate.' After that, I went and looked at my swings, and I did look tense, so I kind of relaxed. It's cool Logan has my back and told me something like that — he was a rookie once, he knows what it's like, and he really helped out a lot with his advice," Wisely told Susan Slasser of The San Francisco Chronicle.
Confidence is a huge part of baseball, and not having it or players feeling like they don't belong certainly makes it more difficult to perform at a high level required to be in the MLB.
The conversation between Webb and Wisely occurred after he was called back up to the Giants.
"I got to know him a little bit better last year and then this year. The talent's always been there — just I don't think he knew that until I said, 'Hey, relax. Don't tense up so much.' It's been awesome to watch," the ace told Slasser.
San Francisco is hoping that the young infielder can maintain this level of play going forward. He's been a big part of their lineup during the latter parts of May and throughout June.
Maybe Wisely is the spark this team needed to turn things around.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/giants as San Francisco Giants Ace Served as 'Hype-Man' for Unsung Hero.
2024-07-02T02:09:31Z dg43tfdfdgfd