dougherty profile, "The outsized world of James Wood: The Washington Nationals’ top prospect is a 6-foot-6 outfielder carrying massive expectations." mostly anecdotes about some of his feats and the doubts about him due to his size and apparently effortless speed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/05/25/james-wood-size-nationals-prospect/And then there was an afternoon workout in Fredericksburg, Va., last summer. The teenager was James Wood, now the Washington Nationals’ top prospect, the player the San Diego Padres didn’t want to trade for Juan Soto but had to in the end. Over and over, he glided through the gaps and caught balls intended for his teammates. De Jon Watson, the Nationals’ director of player development, pulled Wood aside, asking him to let the right and left fielders get some work, too.
talks about the time his junior year his coach, manny upton, brought him a yankees angels game to see other big players.
Manny Upton, father of major leaguers B.J. and Justin Upton, had coached Wood and thought it would be good for him to see super tall players in person. And since Justin’s Angels were playing the Yankees, Manny got Wood and Kenny on the field, where Marcus Thames, the Yankees’ hitting coach and a Mississippi native, noticed Wood’s shirt and told Judge to walk over.
“Hi, I’m Aaron,” Wood remembered Judge saying, hand extended, as if Wood didn’t know his favorite player’s name. Judge asked whether he played basketball or football. Wood quietly told him no, he was ready to focus solely on becoming a professional outfielder. So Judge waved him past the ropes and spoke with him for 10 minutes, letting him stand on major league grass for the first time.
Judge is a 6-7 outfielder and broke the American League’s single-season home run record in 2022. Stanton, Judge’s teammate, is 6-6 like Wood. Throughout baseball history, there are many pitchers who stood that tall and way, way fewer position players.
also talks about his slump in 2020 his senior year at img
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