Former Tar Heel Dustin Ackley finds his form after early struggles

In baseball, statistics are much more than just numbers. They’re labels that allow fans to compare players across generations of the nation’s pastime.

A pitcher does not win 20 games so much as he becomes a 20-game winner, and a player who gets a hit 299 times out of 1,000 is never thought of the same as one who reaches the timeless plateau of a .300 average.

A month into Dustin Ackley’s tenure as a member of the Double-A West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, the most decorated hitter in University of North Carolina baseball history was — for the first time in his life — a .200 hitter.

“I had my slumps in college, but never a month of baseball to slump like I did at the beginning of this year,” Ackley said. “It’s tough. I don’t think anyone could say it’s not tough when you’re slumping.”

He sported an anemic .305 slugging percentage and was struggling in the field after moving from first base to second at the start of his pro career. To those who had followed Ackley at UNC from 2007-2009, this sort of performance was almost unthinkable.

In three All-American seasons in Chapel Hill, Ackley never hit less than .400 and mashed his way to school records in batting average, hits, runs and total bases. After a career that included three consecutive trips to the College World Series, the Walnut Cove native was selected by the Seattle Mariners with the second overall pick of the 2009 MLB Draft. Two months later, he signed a five-year contract worth at least $7.5 million, with a $6 million signing bonus to boot.

Going from a big man on campus at UNC to a struggling minor leaguer with the Mariners’ Double-A affiliate might have made a lesser ballplayer fall apart at the seams. Even a player with Ackley’s potential might have wilted under the pressure of his first prolonged bout with failure in a sport that he previously dominated.

But Ackley is different — a rare 22-year-old talent defined as much by his control and discipline as he is his prodigious hitting capabilities.

“He was the most even-tempered guy you ever met,” said UNC left fielder Ben Bunting, who was Ackley’s teammate for two years. “No matter what was going on, he was always the same even, cool attitude.”

It’s a trait that manifests itself not just in Ackley’s off-the-field demeanor, but also in his play. While he has extraordinary hand-eye coordination, Ackley also has a remarkable ability to discern between a strike and a ball.

More importantly, he has the self-control to refrain from swinging at the latter. Ackley managed a respectable .345 on-base percentage by drawing 19 walks in 26 games even in the depths of his dreadful first month in Tennessee.

“One of the first traits that you look for in a young hitter is does he know the difference between a ball and a strike and how quickly can he make that adjustment,” UNC baseball coach Mike Fox said.

“His plate discipline is something he pretty much had when he got there, and it’s pretty incredible how advanced it was when he got here.”

Even with his batting average sitting on the Mendoza line, the 2009 ACC Player of the Year was unfazed. He just kept taking pitches, working the count and getting on base — waiting out his slump like so many of his lengthy turns at bat. While he adjusted to minor-league pitching at the plate, he started to become more comfortable at second base.

And then he started hitting.

During his final two months with the Diamond Jaxx, Ackley raised his batting average by more than 60 points and posted a rock-solid .833 on-base plus slugging percentage. His improvement earned him a promotion to the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate, the Tacoma (Wash.) Rainiers, at the All-Star break.

“He’s simple to work with,” Rainiers hitting coach and interim manager Jose Castro said. “I mean, the kid was born to hit. His work, his talent and everything that he has offensively, it’s what a hitting coach dreams of.”

Ackley announced his arrival in the Pacific Northwest by belting a home run in his first time at the plate and finished the season fifth on the team in batting average among players with 100 at-bats or more.

Ackley was most excited about once again contributing to a winning team. He homered twice during the Pacific Coast League playoffs in September, boosting the Rainiers to their first outright PCL championship since 1969.

“The coaches are more laid-back, it’s more fun,” Ackley said. “Anytime you’re winning, it’s a lot more fun.”

Despite Ackley’s success and the sizeable signing bonus added to his checking account, UNC baseball equipment manager Tyson Lusk, who lived with Ackley for two years in college, said his friend is the same as he always was — trustworthy, hard-working and humble.

“I went out there this summer, and it was almost like he didn’t have all that money, he just moved to Seattle,” Lusk said. “He understands that he’s been very blessed, but the blessings he’s received, it’s not something he wants to wear on his sleeve.”

With the Rainiers season finished, Ackley will begin play in the Arizona Fall League on Oct. 12. The AFL is a five-week-long competition that gives promising, young minor-leaguers a chance to further hone their skills. After that, it’s unknown whether Ackley will spend his next season in Tacoma or be given a chance to make his major-league debut.

But true to form, the former Tar Heel isn’t worrying about his status as a future Mariner.

“There’s really no timetable in pro ball,” he said. “Anything can happen and it might be when you least expect or it could be when you most expect it. It’s just one of those things where you just have to play your best where you’re at and just hope the way you’re playing determines where you go.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.