In the first half of the season, Jackson was arguably the Rays most consistent pitcher, getting his ass kicked almost every time he took the mound. His first win for the team came well into his second season. So, anyway, Jackson found himself struggling again against what team we cant recall and on an outfielders throw to the plate, he ran to back it up. He lost track of the errant ball and it hit him in the head. Hard. But that wasnt the freakiest part: Jackson shook it off, returned to the hill and struck out the next three batters to end the inning. All of which raises the inevitable question: Why didnt someone bean the ol Jackster before every game? Maybe the Rays adopted the strategy, because the 23-year-old started to pitch up to his capabilities in the latter half of the 07 campaign.
This article appears in Sep 12-18, 2007.
