“Tearing the cover off the baseball” is a phrase typically used for hitters who are locked in at the plate, and with a .311 batting average as a rookie in 2025, Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson would certainly qualify.
After an unusual play in the A's 1-0 win on Thursday at Yankee Stadium, Wilson is one of the few hitters to whom the classic baseball idiom applies both literally and figuratively.
At first glance, Wilson’s weak dribbler toward the first-base line -- with an exit velocity of just 14.3 mph -- sure doesn’t seem to evoke an expression meaning consistent hard-hit contact. But when the A’s shortstop made contact off the end of his bat on a low changeup from Yankees lefty Ryan Weathers, it tore the cover partway off the baseball, which spun in a helicopter-esque arc on its way along the grass. This isn’t a first: Wilson joins Freddy Fermin, Martín Maldonado and A’s teammate Shea Langeliers among those who can say they’ve hit the cover off the ball in a Major League game, although they'd probably prefer not to reveal how.
Yankees broadcasters speculated Wilson was likely using a cupped bat, which has a small indentation at the end of the barrel and could account for the unusual damage to the baseball. On what went down as a softly hit groundout, it sure wasn’t due to Wilson squaring up the ball -- although the young star has proven he’s certainly capable of that, too.