May 14, 2021 4 min read

Minor league baseball players had their sport ripped away from them last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The game they had been playing, some since they were 5-year-old T-ball players, was gone seemingly in an instant. Their passion, their way of life, their game, all gone and put in quarantine.

Those players, like Wild Things outfielder Bralin Jackson, are happy to have it back.

“I’m grateful that I can play baseball again,” Jackson said. “The year away from it made me appreciate the game. It made me realize how quickly it can come and go. I feel a sense of gratitude because I believe I have a lot more to give.”

The baseball shutdown in 2020, followed by the contraction of the minor leagues, could not have come at a worse time for Jackson’s career. After being a Frontier League all-star with Washington in 2017 when he hit .294 with a career-high 16 home runs, Jackson spent the next two years playing in Class AA for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ affiliate in Altoona. He became a minor league free agent following the 2019 season, just ahead of the pandemic.

“Nobody was eager to sign minor-league free agents at the end of 2019. Teams were looking to get rid of players not add,” Jackson said. “Early in the pandemic, I was ready to play baseball. I was in shape but not signed.”

A former fifth-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays, Jackson spent much of last summer in Tracy, Calif. He worked at a gym and was able to attend family functions “for the first time in what seemed like forever” during the summer, but Jackson missed baseball.

Near the end of 2020, Jackson started looking for places to play. It was too late to get on a winter league team, so Jackson was wondering if he’d have any baseball options this year. That’s when former Wild Things teammate James Harris told Jackson, “You can always go back to Washington.”

After a few phone calls to Wild Things president and general manager Tony Buccilli, Jackson was signed for a second stint with the Wild Things.

“Having no innings in 2020, I knew it was going to be difficult getting back with an affiliated team for the start of this year,” Jackson said. “I know there are some things I’ll need to brush up on because I haven’t played in a game in so long, but I hope to get my feet under me fairly quickly.”

Jackson said he was grateful for the opportunity he had with the Pirates. In 2018, he played 64 games with the Curve and batted only .214. The next season, Jackson played in 92 games and his average jumped to .257.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself,” Jackson admitted. “I learned a lot, played at a good level of baseball and had a fair shake.”

Exhibition games

Washington began spring training Thursday and will play a series of exhibition games, starting tonight, ahead of the Frontier League season opener May 27 at Florence. The Wild Things will host the Black Sox, a team of unsigned players, at 7:05 tonight and 5:35 p.m. Sunday. On Wednesday, the opponent will be the Quebec team from the Frontier League, and May 22 Washington will host Lake Erie.

New Wild Things manager Tom Vaeth said a player’s performance in the exhibition games will hold carry more weight than in any practice setting.

“I’m evaluating what I see in game situations,” Vaeth said. “I’ve seen guys have terrible camp days and then go out and have three hits in a game situation. I’ve also had guys who look great in batting practice and you wonder why they’re here (independent baseball) and then, in a game, they look like they can’t hit water if they fell out of a boat.”