Ackley named MVP of AFL - 美國職棒

Ackley earns Arizona Fall League MVP honors


SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Anyone who saw Dustin Ackley in April probably could not
envision the Mariners' second-base prospect taking home any kind of award for
his on-field performance.

The 2009 first-round pick, taken No. 2 overall, seemed lost in the opening
month of his pro career. Deemed the most natural hitter in the '09 Draft
class, Ackley was looking at a .147 average and .516 OPS following the
season's opening month.

Yet here it is, nearly seven months since that inauspicious beginning, and
Ackley is the 2010 Arizona Fall League MVP.

"That's an awesome feeling," Ackley said of receiving the award before
Saturday's championship game. "In April, I didn't think I could hit any more.
As far as I've come, with hitting and defense, it's really special. I watched
Grant Desme win it last year, the MVP, and he had put up great numbers during
the season and in the Fall League. It's really special to take it in after
him."

It would be difficult to find anyone who wouldn't think Ackley was deserving.
He won the AFL batting title with a .424 average, but that was far from all
he accomplished. He also topped the league in on-base percentage (.581),
slugging (.758), OPS (1.338) and runs scored (28), all while also going a
perfect 5-for-5 in stolen-base attempts.

"I feel really good," said Ackley, who helped the Peoria Javelinas make it to
their second straight title game. "My body definitely has been feeling tired
lately after a long season, but I feel really good where I'm at defensively
and hitting wise. I feel I've come a long way with second base, with double
plays and ground balls. I think it was a big help to come out here."

Ackley did start to pick it up as the calendar hit May, with a .304 average
for the rest of his time in Double-A. But he still wasn't really driving the
ball consistently. Early in the season, he was lunging at pitches and even
when he started to get going, he was described more as a handsy hitter. That
clearly has improved in the Fall League as half of Ackley's hits (14 of 28)
were for extra bases.

"That's been the biggest thing, just staying back and driving balls," Ackley
said. "This fall, I've hit offspeed pitches the best I ever have. Out of my
four home runs, I think three of them have been on two-strike offspeed
pitches.

"I'm just feeling comfortable. I feel so much more comfortable in the box as
far as timing goes. I feel more powerful in the box, I'm using my legs more.
It's helped me throughout the season, just learning myself and what I was
struggling with early on, what I need to focus on when I'm hitting."

Keep in mind that Ackley has done all of this while learning a new position
on the fly. He had been an outfielder and first baseman, the latter largely
because of an elbow injury, at the University of North Carolina. When he came
to the AFL last year to make his unofficial pro debut, he played only the
outfield. So he didn't really have the chance to focus more on his hitting
woes when he broke out of the gate so slowly.

"Early in the season, I was still doing early work every day defensively,"
Ackley said. "I was doing early work, but I wasn't doing any hitting. I was
struggling hitting and also struggling at second, so it was kind of tough to
weigh both of those out. Everything was going wrong. After that, I started
slowing everything down, took a deep breath and everything started to come
more easily then."

He spent the second half of the season with Triple-A Tacoma, hit
.274/.338/.439 in 52 games there, then hit a couple of homers to help the
Rainiers win the Pacific Coast League crown. The move up clearly did Ackley
some good, the benefits of which showed up in Peoria this fall.

"I think it did," Ackley agreed. "New scenery, the ballparks in Triple-A are
easier to hit in than they are in Double-A. I felt I was flying out a lot to
the deeper parts in Southern League parks. Moving up definitely helped me
with confidence. I was doing better towards the end of the Double-A first
half, so that helped me, too."


http://tinyurl.com/2bdupnl

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Ackley:聽說...Felix明年要挑戰10勝拿賽揚

那我後年再上來好了 XDD

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