Jay Jackson went through a lot in 2016. The reliever pitched in more games than he ever had in his professional career and experienced the highs of helping the Hiroshima Carp win the Central League pennant and the lows of falling short in the Japan Series.
"I learned that your body is amazing," Jackson said. "I threw in a lot of games, and that was my second year being a full-time reliever, throwing a lot of games, getting up and down a lot. I learned that your body can do a lot of things that you didn't think it could.
"Other than that, mentally, it's a long season. That's what I learned, that this is a really long season just trying to grind it out and take care of yourself. Now that I know what the season can be like, I can adapt a little bit better."
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