PEORIA, Ariz. — At a distance, he looked like just like anyone else in a Mariners’ uniform in the Saturday afternoon sunshine.
In fact, he moved better than the average player, running a little bit harder and faster than most. The arm produced throws that maybe aren’t quite “something out of Star Wars” but are just as crisp and often more accurate than those around him,
And the swing? Well the technique has remained the same through all these years — the upright stance, the head perfectly still while the body is moving, the bat head staying impossibly long through the strike zone.