For Presley, Ambition Is Key Force

In 1974, talented Jim Presley led his team to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

Eleven years later, the 23-year-old player from Pensacola, Fla., is establishing himself in the American League--as the slugging third baseman of the Seattle Mariners.

The secret?

“Ambition,” he quickly responded. “That’s the main thing. You’ve got to have talent but you’ve got to have drive in you, too.”

Presley hit 23 home runs last season; 13 at Salt Lake City in the Pacific Coast League and 10 with the Mariners after being called up from their Triple A farm club on June 24.

When the Mariners opened a road trip in Texas last week, he had 14 home runs and was among the league leaders in that department.

Despite his strong display of power in Seattle last season, he did not win the Mariners’ regular third base job until spring training in Tempe, Ariz.

Presley had to beat out Darnell Coles, 22, for the position. He may have been an underdog in the battle, too. Coles was the Mariners’ No. 1 pick in the June, 1980, free agent draft while Presley was a fourth-round selection in June, 1979.

“Jim hit .390 this spring,” said Mariners’ Manager Chuck Cottier. “He had the job at the end of last season and he has it again.”

A 6-1, 185 pounder, he hit for power in his minor league career that began in 1979 in the Class A Northwest League in Bellingham. He hit 22 homers and drove in 79 runs at Class AA Lynn, Mass., in 1982.

Presley says there are no promises made to a young player when he signs his first professional baseball contract.

“It’s all up to you,” he said. “You just try to keep plugging away. That’s the only thing you can do. You play in the minor leagues and you wonder if you’re ever going to get here.”

That’s where ambition comes in.

“You have to really want to get here,” he stressed. “When I’m not hitting the ball, I go out and take extra hitting every day. I go out and work at it. Getting here is hard but staying here is even harder. You have to go out and prove yourself all over again.”

Cottier feels Presley is “a vastly improved” player from last season when he hit .227 in 70 games for the Mariners.

“He’s cut down on his strike zone,” said Cottier, “because he’s not swinging at bad balls. That’s the reason why he’s hitting for a better average. He’s not striking out as much and he’s making better contact.”

Presley insists that he’s not “really concerned” about statistics right now. But he will talk about them.

“I’m not going to hit 30 homers or drive in 110 runs,” he said. “I’m not going to hit .300, either. I’ve set some goals but they’re realistic ones. I know you can’t get a hit every night and you can’t hit a home run every week. That’s unrealistic.”