"Jacobsen on track to return" -- August 29, 2005

By C. JENNINGS BREAKEY for the East Oregonian

	Bucky Jacobsen, center, talks to teammates on the Inland Empire 66ers, the Seattle Mariners’ minor league affiliate, in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., earlier this month. Jacobsen, who has been out with an injury since last season, is playing for the Tacoma RaIniers and is on the Mariner’s 40-man roster. Photo by C Jennings Breakey

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — Bucky Jacobsen seemed to have vanished after his 2004 knee injury, but all eyes were on the 6-foot-4-inch, 255-pound Hermiston native when the Seattle Mariners fan favorite took the field this month for the first time following knee surgery that ended his 2004 season. Jacobsen started his climb back to the big leagues in August for the the Inland Empire 66ers, Seattle’s high-A minor league affiliate.

In his second game with the 66ers, Jacobsen beat out an infield single, tagged up from second to third and belted two doubles. The designated hitter/first baseman did all this while nursing both his knees back to health.

“My speed never slumps,” Jacobsen, 29, joked. “It doesn’t look real pretty, but I don’t think me running has ever looked that pretty.”

Bucky is a happy-go-lucky guy, said 66ers coach Daren Brown, and is doing things that are “good for these kids to see.”

Michael Garciaparra, the Mariners’ 2001 supplemental first round draft pick and brother of Chicago Cubs shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, said Jacobsen has impacted the team with more than just his batting average.

“He lets you pick his brain,” said Garciaparra, the 66ers second baseman who’s hitting .296 with a .386 on-base percentage. "It’s real good to have a guy like that around."

Jacobsen, who had the benefit of sitting under Mariner greats Edgar Martinez, Jamie Moyer and Dan Wilson, said he tries to pass on the mental part of the game to the younger ballplayers.

“If you go 0-for-4 and take it with you on defense, you just made yourself one step further from the big leagues,” said Jacobsen, who had nine home runs in 42 games for the Mariners before his injury. “It’s just a matter of growing up and realizing how lucky you are and trying to use that mental maturity to make yourself more successful the next time.”

Though Jacobsen hadn’t seen many of 66ers play before he arrived, 21-year-old Wladimir Balentien left quite an impression on the 2004 AAA home run derby champion.

“Sitting on power like that, you’re going to be sitting on 30 to 40 home runs a year,” Jacoben said of the young center fielder who’s hitting .288 with 34 doubles and 23 homeruns.

With the Mariners again in the American League West’s cellar, a hot streak couldn’t have come at a better time for Jacobsen, who after hitting an eye-popping .571 with Inland is now batting .288 overall and is playing for the Tacoma Rainiers, Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate. Major league rosters expand to 40 players Sept. 1 and Jacobsen is on the Mariners’ 40-Man roster.

Despite playing only a limited number of games with the 66ers, the Major League veteran left quite a mark on the young players.

"He’s already been there. That’s what you’re shooting for," Garciaparra said. " It makes you want to get there that much more."

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The editor made changes to the article to make it more focused on Bucky, which fits because it's near his hometown. But I definitely don't care for the lead change, because it's way too long. Anyway, it's published, and I feel blessed.