Staton Seeking the Right Spot

Dave Staton, Las Vegas Stars’ left fielder, picked up the ball on a couple of bounces. A Phoenix runner tried to score from second. Staton unloaded and the runner was dead.

The play happened months ago, but the memory is fresh.

“I take great pride in being able to throw people out,” Staton said. “And that one protected a lead in the eighth inning.”

Defense is an obsession with Staton. It’s also a necessity.

He studies opposing batters, works on positioning and shags fly after fly. All to get a chance to do what he does best--hit the ball.

Staton is considered a top prospect for the San Diego Padres, who covet his powerful bat. Staton is hitting .281 with 19 home runs and 76 runs batted this season for the club’s triple-A franchise. Numbers that are even more impressive considering a hamstring injury forced him to miss nearly a month at the start of the season.

Yes, Staton can use the bat. The problem has been finding a place for him to use his glove.

Staton, who has 65 home runs in three previous minor league seasons, was a fifth-round draft pick in 1989 from Cal State Fullerton, where he played at designated hitter. Unfortunately, that position doesn’t exist in the National League. So the Padres have shifted him around, looking for the right spot.

“In the last few years, I’ve played first base, third base and, now, the outfield,” Staton said. “Hopefully, they’ll find a place for me to play.”

It’s not that Staton has been a liability in the field, it’s just that the Padres always seem to come up with an all-star at his position.

He was a solid first baseman, but the Padres have Fred McGriff, who currently leads the National League in home runs with 25 and has 73 RBIs. He spent time at third base, but that spot on the big club is now owned by Gary Sheffield, who has 23 home runs and 77 RBIs.

With those slots filled for the future, Staton was asked to move again this season by Padre Manager Greg Riddoch. So left field it was.

“Whether or not I go to San Diego, this can only help my stock,” Staton said. “It always helps if you can play more than one position.”

Staton hasn’t played in the outfield since Little League, but he has adjusted well.

That’s not to say he’s moved smoothly into the position. The toughest adjustment has been positioning himself properly.

Because of his foot speed, or lack thereof, he needs to get an edge, so he spends hours studying opposing hitters.

“The biggest thing is playing the hitter appropriately,” Staton said. “I don’t have the speed to chase balls down in the gap. I work with the center fielder to cut down the angles and move around to various spots.”

Roy Who?: Staton’s power is legendary on the minor league level. In fact, he won the Home Run Derby before the triple-A all-star game a few weeks ago.

But the one shot that everyone has been talking about was a ball he hit off the scoreboard, 474 feet away, in Las Vegas two weeks ago. Brian Dangerfield, the Stars’ public relations director, estimates that the ball would have gone about 580 feet had it not been stopped.

It shattered three scoreboard lights, which exploded into sparks, bringing back memories of the film “The Natural.” In the movie, Roy Hobbs shatters the lights with a home run to win the pennant.

Dangerfield said he has been looking for the movie sound track.

“We want to have it handy for the next time he does that,” Dangerfield said.

Onward and upward: For the second time this season, relief pitcher Jeff Patterson has been promoted.

The former Loara High and Cypress College standout started the season with Clearwater, a Class-A team for the Philadelphia Phillies, then was moved to double-A Reading. Last week, he was bumped up to Scranton, the club’s triple-A team.

“The Phillies have made so many changes (on the major league level), that it affects everyone in the organization,” Patterson said. “When someone gets moved down, someone gets moved up, that’s all.”

Not quite.

Patterson, himself, is partly responsible for his rapid rise.

At Clearwater, he was 3-1 with 14 saves. At Reading, he was 2-1 with 13 saves.

“Yeah, I was doing really well,” Patterson said. “There wasn’t much left for me to do down there.”

Patterson’s career has been prolonged by the move to the bullpen. He was a starter after being drafted in 1989. The next year, he suffered a torn muscle in his pitching elbow and missed half the season.

In 1991, Patterson was struggling as a starter, and at the All-Star break was moved to the bullpen. He finished with nine saves.

“I definitely like the pen more,” Patterson said. “I throw everyday and I don’t have to wait four days after a bad start. I would get to thinking too much. That was the worst part.”

Not in the genes: Tom Lasorda once said Manny Mota could fall out of bed and get a base hit. Apparently it was not a trait he passed on to the majority of his sons.

Mota, who has a major league record 150 pinch hits and a .304 career average, has four sons playing in the minor leagues. Only one, Gary, is living up to the family name.

Gary Mota, an outfielder for Ashville, a Class-A team for the Houston Astros, is hitting .305 with 21 home runs and 84 runs batted in.

Meanwhile, Andy Mota is hitting .249 for Tucson, the Astros’ triple-A team. Domingo Mota is hitting .249 for Memphis, the double-A team for the Kansas City Royals. Jose Mota is hitting .222 for Omaha, the Royals’ triple-A team.

No doubt all three have been pulled for pinch-hitters at one time or another.