Rockies Put Bates on Fast Track After Impressive Spring : Baseball: Shortstop from Esperanza played rookie ball last year. Now, he’s at triple-A level.

For a long time, Jason Bates was bitter because the baseball establishment failed to realize that he was destined to have his face on a bubble-gum card. He knew when he was 15 that he would be a professional baseball player, but they didn’t draft him after he graduated from Esperanza High School or after he left Cypress College for Arizona.

Last year, however, after two seasons at Arizona, Bates was selected by the Colorado Rockies. And, just when he thought he’d never get his foot in the door, he’s riding the express elevator to the penthouse.

One day, he’s preparing for a minor league exhibition against a team from Mexico. The next week, he’s lining hits off Mark Langston, getting patted on the butt by Will Clark and making a national television appearance with Ryne Sandberg.

Ah, the wonders of expansion baseball. Not to mention being in the right place at the right time.

Bates, a switch-hitting shortstop, was picked by Colorado in the seventh round last June and played with the Rockies’ rookie league affiliate in Bend, Ore., last summer. He hit .286 with six homers and 31 RBIs in 70 games and then played in the Arizona Instructional League.

He was home in Norwalk this February, packing for minor league training camp when he got a call from Rockies’ General Manager Bob Gebhard, who told Bates to report to the major league camp for spring training.

“(Infielders) Charlie Hayes and Nelson Liriano were both hurt, so they wanted me in camp,” Bates said. “I got there and pinch-hit a couple of times and then all of sudden I’m starting, and starting in the big league games, not the ‘B’ games.

“I found myself getting hits off guys like Langston and you get down to first base and you sort of have to shake yourself and say, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’ It was strange at first, but it was a real blast. I’m on national TV in a game against the Cubs and friends and relatives from all over the country are calling me that night. It’s been amazing. Truly amazing.”

Bates’ brush with greatness lasted only a couple of weeks . . . this time. But his .305 spring batting average and sure-handed fielding made some lasting impressions. The Rockies reassigned him to their triple-A club, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, after seeing him in action this spring.

“He kind of opened some eyes,” Sky Sox Manager Brad Mills said. “He did very well for himself. It’s a situation where you desperately want to take advantage of it, and he did. He’s a tough kid. He doesn’t let a lot bother him and it showed.”

Now, Bates is just a phone call and 1 1/2-hour drive from the majors.

That call might be forthcoming, too. Bates picked up with the Sky Sox where he left off in spring training. He had a .323 batting average, a .426 on-base percentage, two homers and eight RBIs in 17 games going into this weekend’s series with the Phoenix Firebirds.

“I did well at big-league camp, surrounded by big-league players, and even though it was only a couple of weeks, I think I learned a lot,” Bates said. “It gave me the confidence that I could play in triple-A. There are a lot of former big leaguers and a lot of soon-to-be big leaguers here, but in those two weeks, I proved to myself that I belong on this level with them.

“My success at camp really carried over and has allowed me to adjust pretty quickly.”

But not immediately. Bates opened the season 0 for 9, and it wasn’t as if the Portland pitching staff was tossing up gems.

“Opening night, we had 21 hits,” Bates said. “Guys were going four for five and five for five, and I couldn’t get a hit. Then, in our third game, I started to feel a little more comfortable at the plate and finally got hold of one, so my first hit in triple-A was a homer.”

Bates isn’t taking anything for granted, though. He has never lost faith in his quest to play in the majors, but he knows dedication and talent alone are not always enough.

“I feel very fortunate because my career’s been stuck in the fast lane lately,” he said. “I got drafted by an expansion team, and if I got drafted out of high school or junior college, that couldn’t have happened. I get a last-minute call to go to big-league camp where I got to play.

“One thing you learn in a real hurry in pro ball is that there are so many talented guys, so many guys who could play in the big leagues without a doubt. Some just never get to prove it because every organization has so many good players you have to hop over to get there.

“I’ve really been blessed that I had the opportunity to show what I can do.”

Actually, he was given the chance to show he could do things even he didn’t know he could do. After pinch hitting a couple of times during spring training, Bates checked out the lineup card before a game with the Angels and discovered he was starting. At third base.

“I had never played third in my life,” Bates said, still sounding bewildered by the prospect. “I wasn’t going to complain, though, that’s for sure. So I went over to Brad Mills, because he played third, and asked if he could give me any pointers.”

Mills had two: Catch the ball. Throw the ball.

“A lot of times, when you just play a position totally on instinct, you do fine,” Mills said. “Jason is fundamentally sound and he did a very good job. I think they wanted to see if he could play other positions and I think he showed that he could.”

Bates insists that the whole experience was one of those rare win-win situations. Nobody expected him to excel, so his performance was a pressure-free bonus. But if he hit .150, he’d probably be back in Bend.

“I was really relaxed, though,” he said. “I felt like I had nothing to lose. I just let it all loose, played my butt off and ended up getting a lot done that way.

“I’m pleased with the way I played and I wasn’t the least bit disappointed that I didn’t make the big club. Heck, I’m in triple-A and flying to games instead of riding a bus. Everything has fallen into place so beautifully.”

The puzzle is not complete, however. There are plenty of obstacles on the road to Denver.

“He’s got such a short history that pitchers haven’t gotten the chance to know him,” Mills said. “It’s going to be interesting to see how he adapts when they start making adjustments. My guess is he’ll handle it, though. He made the jump from rookie ball to triple-A and he’s continued to play very well.”

So far, Mills has done very little teaching and a whole lot of sitting back and admiring.

“You get a kid who comes up and starts playing, and especially hitting, like he is, you just let him play.”

That’s all Bates ever wanted.