Action Jackson!

Bald and beautiful baby!

Our Hero:  Austin Jackson

What You Need To Know:  Drafted by the New York Yankees in 2005, he took a record signing bonus for an 8th round pick and dumped the idea of attending Georgia Tech.  He pretty much spent the bulk of his years with New York hanging out in their minor league system, and he was considered a valuable prospect.  In 2009 he was part of the three-team trade that sent my boyfriend, Curtis Granderson, to the Yankees.  Austin was one of the players the Yankees gave us in return.  He's proven to be a competent lead-off man and he's dynamite defensively, patrolling a center field in Detroit that in it's spare time doubles for Yellowstone National Park.

His Baggage: Jackson plays center field.  Curtis Granderson also plays center field.  Curtis Granderson was crazy popular in Detroit.  The son of teachers, raised in Chicago, he's an intelligent, hard-working, black man playing baseball in Detroit.  He was MLB PR's wet dream.  And now he's a Yankee.  The Granderson trade was really unpopular with a lot of fans in Detroit, at the time.  My own father CALLED ME AT WORK, just to make sure I was doing OK.  My Big Sis called The Bat Cave and suggested to My Man that he start hiding the kitchen knives.  Yeah, it was kind of like that.  Turns out, it was win-win for everybody.  We got a legit lead-off hitter, and Jackson is, I think, better defensively than Granderson (who wasn't a slouch for us).  New York got a guy who can jack homeruns over that Little League wall they call right field.

The Proposed Category Romance Plot: Against his mother's wishes, he gave up the chance at a college education to play big league baseball.  But four years toiling in the minor leagues, and constant comparisons to Mickey Mantle are starting to wear him down.  When he's traded, he's asked to replace one of his new team's most popular players.  His confidence is starting to flag as is, and now he finds himself falling for a woman that many of his new teammates consider bad news.

Our Heroine:  Boy, date a couple of professional baseball players and watch how fast a girl gets labelled as a groupie.  Well she's had enough!  She's no groupie.  She's got smarts!  She's got self-respect!  And to prove that to herself and everyone else, she's declaring a moratorium on men.  And when she is ready to get back in the saddle?  Absolutely, positively, no baseball players.  None.  She's going to keep working as a limo driver, hit the books to get her accounting degree, and stay away from distractions.  That is until she looks down at her phone and realizes that her next pick up is none other than the hometown team's new center fielder.  Dear Lord why does he have to be so sexy?  And nice?!?!  Why oh why does he have to be so bloody nice?!?!  It's official.  God hates her.

Baseball be damned!

What Category Romance Line:  This one was tough.  Jackson is from Texas, so at first I thought Harlequin American.  Unfortunately all those Texans tend to be cowboys or ranchers - and as much as I love Jackson?  I can't see him in a cowboy hat.  So yeah, we're going with Harlequin Desire.  Once he settles in with his new team, gets his bat going, his confidence is going to go way up - which means he'll be all Won't Take No For An Answer Alpha on the heroine.  Poor girl, doesn't have a prayer.