The baseball landscape is littered with former two-sport athletes, including many former football/baseball players, who went bust after opting for small ball and a big signing bonus.
Some couldn’t hit a breaking ball. Others couldn’t hone raw skills and translate pure athletic ability to high-level baseball. Some played baseball with a football mindset, crashing into walls and always getting hurt.
Jace Peterson is not one of those.
The Braves’ rookie second baseman was a hard-hitting defensive back at McNeese State University in his hometown of Lake Charles, La., before hanging up the football cleats after the Padres selected him in the supplemental first round of the 2011 amateur draft, the 58th overall pick.
“He’s a real special breed to me,” Braves veteran left fielder Jonny Gomes said of Peterson, 24, who has quickly led Braves officials to re-evaluate their immediate and long-term outlook at second base. “You see these two-sport athletes in our game, and they usually have that football kickoff mentality. Which is good in our game, but at the same time, it can kind of harm you.
“You don’t see too many free safeties play second. That’s more like a first base, center fielder, right fielder. Second base is smart, quick. You can’t have that football mentality, that kickoff (team aggressiveness). He’s off to a great start. I’m really glad he’s on the team. Sometimes you’ve got to tip your hat to the front office, for going to get him.”
He wasn’t the highest rated of the four Padres prospects traded to the Braves in the Justin Upton deal in December, but Peterson quickly showed this spring that he was the most advanced. He won the second-base job, batted second on opening day, and got a hit in his first Braves plate appearance, then scored their first run on a Nick Markakis single.
“He’s got a good eye, he’s just not just up there swinging the bat,” veteran Markakis said. “He’s got a plan, he’s got a good approach going up there. That’s half the battle of hitting, is going up there with a plan and executing, and he does it pretty well. He’s been doing it all spring. Hopefully he can continue that for us.”
When the Braves play their home opener Friday against the Mets, Peterson will have a Cajun cheering section.
“I’ll have my mom, my dad, my brothers, couple of friends from back home,” he said, smiling. “So I’ll have a good bit of family out when we get (to Atlanta).”
His dad, Scott, and mom, Shawn, with be there with his brothers Eric, Kyle and Brent Peterson, all younger.
Peterson was excited after being traded to the Braves because it gave him a chance to play again in the South. He grew up cheering for the Braves and the Astros.
“It’s been awesome, man,” he said of his first months with the team. “I mean, I loved everything about San Diego and that organization. They did nothing but good things for me. But, man, to be able to come to Atlanta and compete for the Braves organization is an honor, and I love being here.”
He said he’s learned something every day from veterans on the team.
“And not just baseball on-the-field wise, it’s the mental stuff,” he said. “It’s a tough game, it’s a game you’ve got to mentally be prepared to play every day, so I think preparation in the offseason and preparation at the field, when you’re not on the field but in the locker room, is very important.
“From doing your routine and getting a routine, forming good habits in the locker room, and just working hard, man. That’s what those guys preach. All of them. From Jonny to Kelly (Johnson) to (Jason) Grilli, all of them, man. Nick, (Freddie) Freeman, C.J. (Chris Johnson), E.Y. (Eric Young Jr.).”
He started the first two games in the three-game series sweep at Miami and got a couple of hits and a walk, but it was a barehanded defensive play that Peterson made on a 6-4-3 double play that created a stir. Andrelton Simmons fielded a grounder behind second base, and as Peterson crossed in front of him going to cover the base, Simmons quickly tossed the ball to him. Peterson grabbed it with his throwing hand and fired to first base in one motion.
“He’s fun to watch,” Markakis said. “He’s going to be a good player. I’ve said all along, I like the way he plays the game and what he can do offensively and defensively, too. You saw that with that (play), the ball kind of behind him, a barehand throw — that was a great play. Those two (Simmons and Peterson) — pretty solid up the middle.”
Gomes said, “To see that in this day and age — so many of these guys have so much flair. But that wasn’t flair, that was the only play he had. So, fundamentally correct, and also he can make that play athletically.”
In spring training, Peterson hit .324 with five doubles and a .397 on-base percentage in 68 at-bats while showing off instincts and defensive skills that surpassed most people’s initial expectations.
