“This is pretty much his last shot, you’d think,” said Nine broadcast announcer Melissa Lester back in July when Ginn was recalled due to an injury to another player. Ginn, now 24, had been with the club in April and May and hadn’t been able to break 50% of the Mendoza line. Since his recall, however, Ginn has gone to the plate 67 times and managed 22 hits (to go with 6 walks and a sacrifice bunt). It all adds up to a .367 average with 6 doubles and a pair of triples as sprinkles on top. It’s enough that his overall numbers are beginning to look a little like a real baseball player’s, and enough that he’s finally got some scouts taking a new assessment of his skill-set.
“He could still work on his patience,” said one of the Nine’s baseball men, “but he’s looking a lot more comfortable at the plate right now. Sam’s (pitching coach Sam Brewington) clearly working hard on his base mechanics, focusing on contact and drive.” Whatever Brewington is doing, it’s working. On the other hand, it’s could also be a bit on Ginn himself, who’s been known in the past to be a bit focused on himself, but folks say has come into the clubhouse with a little more sense of his situation.
Regardless, the results are happening on the field, as Ginn has just laid down a pair of 2-hit games against Long Beach this past series.
“I like working with Sam,” Ginn said. “He’s been here before, and he’s talking about things I understand.”
To be clear, Ginn’s resurgence is probably too late for this year, but it has team officials looking at him more closely for a position next year—which would be a big deal, since the team has had trouble with their right handed bats in the outfield this year, with both the now departed Carlos Camacho and Pat Allen struggling much of the year (not to mention Ginn himself). If GInn has managed to grow into the kind of player the Nine were hoping he was when they acquired him from Des Moines a few years back, that could make things a little brighter in 2038.
“I want to play,” Ginn said. “That’s my dream. Big league player. That’s always been the goal.”
