Jackson Merrill on MLB Tonight!

Jackson nl rookie of the month. You might be the NL rookie of the year. How have you been able to have that confidence and poise as a rookie? You just turned 21. How has it been possible for you here in the majors? Just play baseball, play baseball? Like I'm still a young kid, like a little teenager. I think that's the easiest way to go about it and having fun is the biggest part of this game. Jackson alberto here, uh talk to us about that little transition to the outfield, you know, because it's not easy, you know , moving from the infield to the outfield and you're done an unbelievable Jack. Yeah, I, I've just been trying to be athletic, you know, I've just been trying to be myself and, and I think too much about it, be athletic out there, have fun, trust my teammates around me to help me out whenever I need it. And how does it feel for you guys? You know, you guys are getting healthy, Moscow a couple of weeks ago today. You got you, Darri and Then last night, uh you got Tatis, you know, back in the lino talk to me about that. Yeah, the energy is super high. You know, I feel like with Toddy in there, it doesn't matter what the production is that he's doing, the energy is all there. I think joe too, playing behind Joe is one of the most electric things in baseball. So I'm very thankful to be here. Hey Jackson, it's harold. I wanna take you back to Albert's question on, on learning the transition to the outfield. Uh, how many fly ball did you take? When did they tell you? I wanna know how you found out you're gonna be playing in the outfield in the big leagues and hadn't been there before. Yeah. So last year in dub way, they told me to go take some fly balls and left and I played a few games and left and Then this off season just train left field the whole time. And Then I think like in the spring training, they just threw me in center field in the lineup and that was it. You know, I didn't ask questions. I just kind of went after it and try to go, go, go take a job. Was it a little easier to learn to learn center than left field? Yeah, I mean, I practice left field and I still think it's harder than center field. So, yeah, it was really easy. Well, we're all talking about this rookie of the year race. Have, have you been watching Paul Skeens? At all. I'm sure you had to turn on and watch this guy play. Right? I love watching Paul, dude. It's awesome. You know, he's, he's dominant almost every start. And, you know, I've talked to him a little bit too when he was out here at the All Star game. Dude. He's just a good person that wants to play baseball too, you know, and I love it. I love the energy he's gotten, He likes to go out there and compete and I love it. Yeah, I saw him at the All Star game the first time I saw him in person and I was like, this dude is a monster. He's, bro. Oh my goodness, he's way bigger I thought. Have you seen him? Have you seen him in person before the All Star game? Uh No, that was my first time. So I know it was a pretty cool experience, you know, kinda see somebody my age doing the same thing and just wanna go have fun playing baseball, you know, you guys get more appreciate of the competition he gets. Yeah, you guys are gonna be linked forever with that. I wanna ask one thing that Albert's gonna jump back on, on the question. I, I was talking to Albert like one of the, the crazy things when you first go, the audio guy just didn't like that. We got good stuff out of you, bro. I knew you were gonna bring it home. Well, we're gonna ask him, try it again. Oh, you're back, Jackson, we're back, we're back. We're gonna get through this real quick. So I wanna ask you, was there a pitcher that when you first went to the plate and you're standing there and you're going, that's Justin Verlander, man. Because you grew, you're so young. You grew up watching a lot of these guys you're facing. Who's that pitcher for you? I think chris Sale probably, especially like the way he throws and he carved me too when I face him too. I think chris Sale. Yeah, after the game, actually I got on the bus at the All Star game and he was sitting right there, I said, come on, dude, really, you're gonna took a little easy on me. It's my first time facing you and he started laughing. But now chris Sale, Jackson, I wanna ask you about your manager , Mike Shields. I know he's been there for a couple of years. He's pressing keep power. Come on Mikes, it's good, Mike. What do you got? Last question? We, we're done with you, my man , mike, um, great person, great person, great, great person outside of the field. And I think that's the biggest thing is he knows how to build a relationship with you. He built one with me in the minor leagues and that was, that was massive, you know, coming up and already being close to your coach. That's, that's, you just have to battle and what he's done to help our team get together too. That's, that's unspeakable. You know, he doesn't get as much credit as he deserves the Padres heart and hustle award winner, Jackson Merrill. You also deserve credit for being tenacious and powering through this interview. Thanks so much, man.