This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola’s Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Ace Sandy Alcantara isn’t the only Marlin vying for some hardware over the final weeks of the season. Utility player Jon Berti could become the eighth National League stolen-base champion in franchise history, and the first since 2017. He leads the Majors with 34 steals despite playing in just 83 games.
That’s a big reason why Berti, who made his MLB debut in 2018 during his eighth professional season, is the Marlins’ ’22 Heart & Hustle Award nominee. Created by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, the award is voted on by alumni and active Major League players and is presented annually to an active player who demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball, work ethic on and off the field and best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of the game. Shortstop Miguel Rojas is a past recipient, as is Joey Wendle during his time with the Rays.
Berti credits his father, Tom, who spent three seasons at Class A ball in the Tigers’ organization during the late 1970s. Jim Leyland was one of his managers.
“To be honest, it’s just always been how I played the game,” Berti said. “Since I was a little kid, that’s just kind of how my dad taught us how to play. I’d say it starts with him. That’s how he played the game when he was growing up. That’s how he was taught, and that’s how we were taught. Just continued to develop it all through high school, college, obviously the Minor Leagues, and then continuing it here in the big leagues.”
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