SAN DIEGO -- Believe. Confidence. Fun. Those might sound like motivational adages from “Ted Lasso,” but they also describe the time
Though the road was weary for the Marlins, especially the pitching staff, the same could not be said for Brinson, whose level of enjoyment has matched that of his high school years. After going hitless in two at-bats last Friday, he finished 11-for-19 with three doubles, three homers, eight RBIs, three walks and just three strikeouts over the following five contests.\n\n“Everything was all about getting hits and results and getting to the next level, especially in the Minor Leagues, but now it's about going up there and enjoying myself,” said Brinson, who made his mental health a priority following the 2019 season. “I know I'm ready, I know I'm prepared, I know I did all the work. Now just go out there and play, have a good time with your teammates, try to win every ballgame you can, and whatever happens is supposed to happen. Try not to worry about that, try not to look at my average, try not to look at my numbers and just go out there and play. If you look at your average and you start looking at your numbers, you're playing for that instead of just playing the game, so I just tried to go out there and just play.”
In Wednesday’s finale, Brinson sent a 94.5-mph four-seamer from Ryan Weathers bouncing off the top of the left-center-field wall and into the second deck for a two-run homer in the first inning. An 87.8 mph slider from Weathers was sent to center for a solo shot in the third. It marked the third multihomer game of Brinson’s career, but it was the first since June 6, 2018, vs. the Cardinals at Busch Stadium during his rookie campaign. He later added a walk and a single.\n\nThis version of Brinson is the player the Marlins envisioned they had acquired as the centerpiece of the Christian Yelich trade in January 2018, not the one with a career .192 average, .549 OPS, 18 homers and 77 RBIs on July 22. The outfielder always has had the tools, as seen in Monday's 8-3 loss.
“I've been blessed to be in this industry long enough to know that you don't know when it's going to click,” Miami's acting manager James Rowson said. “You look at the player and you look at their work ethic, you look how they get after it. There's a lot of things you have to measure: How guys deal with failure, how they're able to be persistent and come back. This game is a tough game, and you're judged very early for short sample sizes of work. ... \\[Brinson has\\] been resilient through it all, he's never quit on himself. He's never quit on his ability.\n\n“He believes in himself and keeps working. ... He's in a great spot right now, but his confidence is building. It's a never-ending battle, but there's nothing like once you get to that hump that you know you can do it at this level, and you have the confidence to know you can succeed. I think he's at that point.\"
Earlier this season, Brinson shuttled back and forth between Triple-A Jacksonville and the Majors, with this being his final Minor League option year. During one 15-day stretch in June, he was sent down to the Jumbo Shrimp three times. It appeared Brinson’s future with the organization was in doubt.\n\nSo will this hot stretch change things? It’s not just overnight success. Since July 19, when he was recalled, Brinson has a .349 average (22-for-63) with seven doubles, five homers and 17 RBIs in 20 games -- with hits in 12 of 16 starts.
The 27-year-old Brinson, along with