Talented Seattle Mariners Rookie Talks About His Growing Comfort and Confidence

NEW YORK - Speaking before Wednesday's game against the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners' third baseman Ben Williamson spoke about his first few months in the big leagues.

The rookie, who was promoted in mid-April, talked about his adjustments, his comfort, and his growing confidence.

"Kind ​of ​just ​the ​mindset ​of ​it ​all. ​I ​feel ​like ​that's ​the ​biggest ​piece ​of ​it, ​is ​I ​came ​in ​here ​and ​I ​was ​just ​like ​super ​nervous, ​didn't ​really ​know ​my ​place, kind of ​lacked ​that ​confidence ​going ​into ​it, ​and ​the ​more ​experience ​that ​I've ​gathered, ​I ​feel ​like ​I've ​just ​grown ​more ​confident ​in ​my ​abilities, ​but ​also ​just ​become ​more ​comfortable in ​who ​I am ​​as ​a ​player. ​Like, ​I'm ​not ​somebody ​that's ​gonna ​try ​to ​leave ​the ​yard. ​I ​feel ​like the first ​couple ​weeks ​in ​I ​was ​trying ​to ​do ​too ​much and ​getting ​away ​from ​my ​identity, ​which ​is ​just ​using ​the ​backside ​of ​the ​field, ​and ​I ​was ​trying ​to ​pull ​the ​ball, getting ​away ​from ​that ​approach ​and ​I ​struggled ​because ​of ​it, ​but ​just ​kind ​of ​getting ​more ​comfortable ​and ​staying ​true ​to ​myself ​is ​what ​I've kind ​of ​learned."

Williamson, known as a glove-first player, has done a nice job making contact for the M's, as he's hitting .XXX for the season. Though he has just one home run thus far, he's clearly continuing to evolve and hone in on his identity as a hitter.

The Mariners will play the Yankees again on Thursday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. PT.