Student and teacher

VERO BEACH, FLA. —  The Dodgers clubhouse will never be confused with a Buddhist monastery, but it is there lessons are imparted from master to protege, mentor to mentee, Gonzo to Grasshopper.

Andre Ethier attended a Phoenix high school little more than a gap double from the stadium where Luis Gonzalez starred for the Arizona Diamondbacks the last eight seasons. Ethier played college ball at Arizona State and celebrated in the stands when the Diamondbacks won the seventh game of the World Series in 2001.

Through it all he studied and emulated Gonzalez, a fellow corner outfielder, left-handed hitter, gym rat and incurable optimist.

Gonzalez also celebrated when the Diamondbacks won, except he was jumping up and down after touching first base, having delivered a soft single against the New York Yankees’ Mariano Rivera that drove in the winning run.

So when the Dodgers signed Gonzalez to a one-year, $7.35-million contract during the winter meetings, Ethier was so overjoyed he did everything but jump up and down.

“The guy I modeled my game after was now my teammate,” he said. “Next thing I know I’m working out with Gonzo in the off-season and we’re taking batting practice. It was surreal.”

The weirdest part is that Gonzalez was just as thrilled.

He had attended a few Arizona State games when Ethier played there in 2002 and 2003 because Diamondbacks teammate Craig Counsell was a close friend of the Sun Devils coach. Then last season Ethier was a Dodgers rookie and seeming carbon copy of himself, leading the team with a .308 batting average and pounding the Diamondbacks at a .347 clip.

“He caught my eye,” Gonzalez said. “I was very impressed with him. He’s going to be a great player for a long time.”

A bold prediction, but the odds should increase as the mentorship flourishes. Gonzalez, 39, is a 16-year veteran who relished taking a leadership role with the Diamondbacks and is eager to do the same with the Dodgers.

During the off-season, Ethier, 24, asked Gonzalez how he maintained his remarkable energy level. He would rise before sunup for rigorous gym workouts followed by batting practice. He never turned down an interview request, was involved in community service and had enough time for his wife and 8-year-old triplets.

The subtext of the question, of course, was how he did it at such an advanced age.

Gonzalez is old enough to recall the 1970s TV series “Kung Fu,” and young Caine telling Master Po that to be blind must be the worst affliction. But Master Po showed his protege that he could hear a grasshopper at his feet, which Caine couldn’t hear. A message was imparted and a nickname born.

Gonzo has found his Grasshopper. The lessons have begun.

“Don’t undersell yourself, shoot big,” Ethier said. “He’s always telling me that. But at the same time, he says not to overdo certain things. I’d go out during the off-season and take 100 swings. He told me to take 30 quality swings instead.

“And if I’m not swinging well, don’t take it home and beat myself up over it.”

Such advice would have been especially helpful in late August, when Ethier’s performance plunged, at least in part because of a sore shoulder that forced him to change his swing. As the slump slouched into September and Marlon Anderson took his job, Ethier grew despondent.

Seemingly forgotten was the way he had seized the starting spot in left field after being promoted from triple A on May 2, his .358 batting average before the All-Star break, his .346 average before injuring the shoulder while attempting a diving catch against the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 10.

“I’m normally upbeat all the time,” he said. “I wake up every day feeling positive. But that experience threw me a little. It was hard.”

Perhaps a similar episode this year could turn around before it reaches a crisis point.

“My thing is to teach him to stay on an even keel,” Gonzalez said. “Andre already knows that, but I’m here to remind him on a daily basis. Young players want to put up good numbers and they put pressure on themselves.

“We can all see he can play. Now it’s the stuff between his ears that counts.”

Gonzalez was the protege of no one early in his career with the Houston Astros. He experienced growing pains alongside other talented young players -- Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Steve Finley and Darryl Kile -- and the team gradually went from a doormat to a contender.

The Dodgers don’t have a sink-or-swim mentality, and their pattern of signing proven veterans while slowly developing prospects fosters teacher-pupil relationships.

Last year, Chad Billingsley learned from Greg Maddux, Russell Martin from Sandy Alomar Jr., Jonathan Broxton from Eric Gagne.

Those leaders are gone, but the breach was filled by free-agent signees Jason Schmidt, Randy Wolf, Juan Pierre, Mike Lieberthal and Gonzalez.

“We’re in a market where fans expect us to contend every year,” General Manager Ned Colletti said. “But it’s also prudent to hold onto prospects and be patient with them. A wonderful byproduct is that the kids can tap into some of the best minds in the game.”

The most natural pairing this year appears to be Gonzo and Grasshopper.

“Andre is willing to make adjustments, and Gonzo is going to help him make them quicker,” said Martin, the Dodgers catcher and Ethier’s close friend. “Everybody likes Gonzo. You can really tell he loves being in the clubhouse and putting on the uniform. He loves the game.”

Gonzalez is a born mentor. He can demonstrate as well as explain. He can relate stories of failure as well as success. He has a desire to help and communicates well.

Ethier is an ideal mentee. He’s committed to improvement and accepts feedback. He’s receptive to new ideas and has been accountable for his performance.

He’s also independent enough to pick and choose. Ethier won’t, for example, rub his bat with pine tar strong enough to adhere wings to an airplane, as Gonzalez does. And he certainly won’t change the placement of his feet in his batting stance from simple and sturdy to knotty and wobbly.

Gonzalez went to a radically open stance and exaggerated stride in 1998, his only season with the Detroit Tigers and the beginning of a six-year power surge in which he belted 191 home runs after hitting only 61 the previous five years.

“Until then I was more concerned with putting the ball in play and not striking out,” Gonzalez said. “I experimented with the open stance and started pulling the ball.”

He went with it for good in 1999, his first season with the Diamondbacks, beginning the season with a 30-game hitting streak and batting .336.

“I figured this was a fresh start,” he said. “I said to myself, ‘Go for it.’ ”

Ethier is making his fresh start in the same uniform. He gladly moved from left to right field to make way for Gonzalez. His shoulder has healed. He’s off to a hot start this spring.

And the lessons continue.

“To your teammates be as humble as possible, but also show them you are as confident as possible,” Ethier said. “That’s something Gonzo talks about. There’s a fine line and it can’t be faked.

“Those are some wise words. I pay attention.”

steve.henson@latimes.com