MIAMI | Marlins
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MIAMI Triple-A shortstop Austin Nola wants to make the majors so badly that this past August he asked an open-ended question to his hitting coach, Paul Phillips:
“How can I add value to my game?”
Nola, who also plays third base and second base, got an answer he wasn’t expecting.
Phillips, who played parts of seven seasons in the majors as a catcher, introduced Nola to a face mask, shin guards, a chest protector and a catcher’s mitt.
Then, in the Arizona Fall League, Nola got in some games as a catcher.
“It started out as an emergency thing, having that in my back pocket,” said Nola, whose younger brother Aaron pitches for the…
