Seattle Mariners’ Brendan Ryan and Jack Wilson go all out in contest for coveted short-stop role
The Seattle Mariners’ Brendan Ryan and Jack Wilson are both up for the club’s coveted short-stop position. As Spring Training is on the horizon, the club is readying its’ roster for the 2011 Major League Baseball season set to start on the 31st
of March. Both players are up for a challenge as the decision for short-stop is pending.
When Ryan was traded to the Mariners in the off-season period, Wilson welcomed him to the club and offered him to work out with him. Being from the same area brought the two together and they have been practicing taking ground balls in camp during workout
sessions.
Ryan hails in the second baseman position while Wilson plays at short-stop. The race to the short-stop position began when new Manager, Eric Wedge, announced that one of the two would be heading the position this season. Ryan is a better contributor with
the glove in that area, when compared to Wilson and the other factor driving his selection is his consistency.
Wilson, age 33, has issues in staying in the line-up and that is one of the drawbacks of his role as short-stop. The announcement from Wedge is considered an awkward one as Ryan is pinned against a player he admires.
"This is a guy I've looked up to," Ryan said. "It's not like its awkward or anything. We're both going to push each other, but it's not like we're rooting against each other. I think it'll be cool to be standing behind him, rotating and seeing how he goes
about taking ground balls from directly behind him, as opposed to on TV and all that. There are a couple things we can even learn from each other. So we'll see."
Both players are now caught in a battle, to see which one will be the new short-stop. Ryan said, "Did I see this coming? Absolutely not! But I'm excited about it. We'll see what happens. I don't know where I'll be. I'm taking ground balls all over the place,
and I'm just going to do what I'm told."
It will be exciting to see which player gets the Mariners’ short-stop position. Both players are equally skilled and fiercely competitive, now it is up to the team’s management to make a final decision.
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