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Rookie 3B Staking Claim to 2059 Role
September 23, 2058: Forever Land – After jumping from AA to the bigs this spring, switch hitting Kata Ishibashi made a splash in April, slashing .302/.387/.566 and clubbing a pair of doubles and four homers. The future looked bright. Fans were loving the “Ishi-Bashing? Yes, he is!” chants that arose with each plate appearance. Alas, the league adjusted, and Ishibashi did not. Two months later, the 24-year-old found himself in AAA.
Ishi Bashing?
Yes he is!“It was a humbling experience,” Ishibashi said in an interview after he’d been called up in September. “It took awhile to get my feet back under me, but I think I’m in a good place now, and I hope I can show the team I’m a player.”
And show he is.
In his 38 plate appearances, Kata Ishibashi has slashed .316/.435/.553, with 9 RBI. His three homers came in a three-day streak and supported three straight wins.
“We know he can do it,” said manager Richard Lawson. “But, to be fair, I think he’s clearly still a work in progress. Every baseball person I see says that when he gets himself really acclimated here, that he’s going to be a solid guy. But he’s still young. Probably the next sign I see in him since he’s come back is that he’s a lot more disciplined at the plate. I think he’s walked 8 times. If he can keep his chase rate down, then pitchers are going to find him harder to deal with.”
Fans probably don’t think about it that deeply, but right now they are having a good time again, dancing to “The Monster Bash” when he comes to the plate, and chanting “Ishi-Bashing? Yes he is!” over and over again.
September 23, 2058: Forever Land – After jumping from AA to the bigs this spring, switch hitting Kata Ishibashi made a splash in April, slashing .302/.387/.566 and clubbing a pair of doubles and four homers. The future looked bright. Fans were loving the “Ishi-Bashing? Yes, he is!” chants that arose with each plate appearance. Alas, the league adjusted, and Ishibashi did not. Two months later, the 24-year-old found himself in AAA.
Ishi Bashing?
Yes he is!
And show he is.
In his 38 plate appearances, Kata Ishibashi has slashed .316/.435/.553, with 9 RBI. His three homers came in a three-day streak and supported three straight wins.
“We know he can do it,” said manager Richard Lawson. “But, to be fair, I think he’s clearly still a work in progress. Every baseball person I see says that when he gets himself really acclimated here, that he’s going to be a solid guy. But he’s still young. Probably the next sign I see in him since he’s come back is that he’s a lot more disciplined at the plate. I think he’s walked 8 times. If he can keep his chase rate down, then pitchers are going to find him harder to deal with.”
Fans probably don’t think about it that deeply, but right now they are having a good time again, dancing to “The Monster Bash” when he comes to the plate, and chanting “Ishi-Bashing? Yes he is!” over and over again.