Major League Baseball

Ackley makes much-anticpated debut for Mariners

Published Jun. 18, 2011 2:58 a.m. ET

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Dustin Ackley, taken right after pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg in the 2009 draft, was set to make his much-anticipated debut for the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.

The 23-year-old second baseman was set to bat seventh against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.

Ackley played mostly first base and center field for North Carolina but the Mariners converted him into a second baseman after taking him with the No. 2pick.

''I'm starting to visualize as we get closer,'' Ackley, three hours before game time. ''It's going to be exciting when you're walking up to the box in front of the crowd and (Roy) Oswalt's on the mound. It's going to be pretty cool.''

He started slowly this season for Triple-A Tacoma, but since May 2 he has hit .355 with 44 runs, 24 extra-base hits and 28 RBIs in 42 games. Overall, he had a .303 average, nine home runs, 17 doubles and 35 RBIs for the Rainiers.

''I think confidence is the biggest thing,'' Ackley said of his final six-week surge. ''I started off slow and thought, 'Oh, no. Here we go again.' But you just have to work hard every day.''

Mariners fans have looked forward to his call up, perhaps as much as former No. 1 draft choice Alex Rodriguez's arrival in 1994.

Ackley is the 12th player from the 2009 draft and seventh from the first round to reach the majors. Currently, there are just two others on active big league roster: Cubs infielder D.J. LeMahieu and Giants first baseman Brandon Belt. Strasburg is recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Mariners manager Eric Wedge talked to Ackley in his office before the game and told him to try to treat his debut like any other game.

''You're coming up to the big leagues, something you dream about your entire life, have fun with it,'' Wedge told him. ''Go out and play the way you played. Don't try to do any more. You're one of 25. Everyone has a job to do. You're no different.''

What Ackley appreciated most from that conversation is that he's here to play every day.

''He told me, 'if you go 4 for 4 or 0 for 4 you're going to be in there,'' Ackley said. ''Just don't try to put too much on yourself. Just do what you know how to do and go form there.''

Ackley got word of his promotion Wednesday during a game in Fresno. He was lifted for a pinch hitter and Rainiers manager Daren Brown gave him the news in the dugout.

''Just to hear the manager tell you that you're going up is a real special thing,'' Ackley said.

Afterward he called him parents, Joy and John Ackley. His dad played in the Red Sox organization. It was late on the East Coast for the call ''but they were definitely glad to hear the call at any point of the night.''

His parents, brother Jordan, sister Malia and fiancee Justine Anderson and her father used the off day Thursday to fly to Seattle for his debut.

''It's a special day,'' Wedge said. ''If it ever gets to the point where it's not special, you need to get out of the game. This is not just a job for these guys, this is the culmination of a dream come true and there's only one first day.''

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