LIKE FATHER LIKE SON? : Padres Think Roberto Alomar Is a Bit More Than a Chip Off the Old Block

Roberto Alomar finally made it to the major leagues this week--about 2 1/2 weeks later than the most highly regarded prospect in the San Diego Padres’ organization was expected to arrive.

Alomar, youngest son of Padre coach and former Angel second baseman Sandy Alomar, led Padre infielders in spring training with a .360 batting average and startled veterans and most of the coaching staff with his defensive ability at second base.

The scout who signed him, Luis Rosa, has already signed two previous rookies of the year.

He said of Alomar: “I have no doubt he will be my third.”

But when the season started, Alomar was in the Pacific Coast League, playing for the Padres’ triple-A affiliate at Las Vegas.

The Padres apparently were haunted by the specter of the last two seasons, when they attempted to jump first Leon (Bip) Roberts and then Joey Cora from double-A to second base at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, only to watch them both fall far short of expectations.

Still, when he got the word last month that he would start the season at Las Vegas, Alomar, 20, wept uncontrollably.

His father, though, thought it was for the best.

“I didn’t want those ghosts to be after him,” he said.

Apparently, there were no ghosts in Las Vegas, where Alomar batted .270 in 9 games and had a league-leading 14 runs batted in.

He was startled Tuesday night when his name wasn’t in the lineup. This time, though, the news was good.

“They told me I was moving up and I started smiling,” he said.

Until the games were postponed because of rain, Alomar was expected to start at second base for the Padres Wednesday and Thursday nights against the Dodgers, with Randy Ready moving to third base to replace Chris Brown.

The rookie is expected to make his major league debut tonight at San Diego, batting second behind Tony Gwynn against Nolan Ryan and the Houston Astros.

“Randy had been doing a good job, but there were some plays that we knew Roberto could execute that we were having problems with,” Manager Larry Bowa said. “With the type of pitching that we have--we don’t have power pitchers--we have to put our best defensive team out there and Roberto can plug a lot of holes.”

Tim Flannery said Alomar “turns the double play like nobody has in a long time,” and Gwynn calls Alomar “as smooth as any second baseman I’ve seen.”

Why, then, didn’t he start the season in San Diego?

“We did it the last two years,” General Manager Jack McKeon said of the promotions of Roberts and Cora, “and we got severely criticized by the media when the guys didn’t pan out. And now we get criticized because we don’t bring a guy up from double A. We can’t win with you guys.”

Gwynn suggested Thursday that the Padres dispatched Alomar for financial reasons.

“He should have been here from the start,” Gwynn said. “I think they were reluctant because they knew he could play and after three years of major league service, he could go to arbitration. So, by sending him out and bringing him up a couple of weeks later, they get an extra year.”

If that was, indeed, the Padres’ intent, they didn’t wait long enough to promote Alomar. According to the Basic Collective Bargaining Agreement, a player who is optioned to the minors for a period of less than 20 days will be credited with major league service for his time spent there.

“That’s not true,” McKeon said of Gwynn’s remarks.

Alomar, whose older brother, Sandy Jr., 21, is a highly regarded catcher in the Padre system, has been turning heads for almost as long as he has been playing.

In only his second year in Little League in his hometown of Salinas, Puerto Rico, Alomar made the all-star team. He was ruled ineligible for the all-star competition, however, when it was discovered that he wasn’t even old enough to be in the league.

He was 7.

As a youngster, Alomar spent his summers at major league parks.

“That’s one of the reasons he’s so confident,” said his father, who spent 15 major league seasons regarded as a light-hitting, good-fielding second baseman. “He feels like he knows everybody.”

Alomar credits his father for honing his game.

“My father knows how to turn double plays,” he said. “He teaches me and I just get better and better.”

The Padres agree.

How long will be stay up?

“Barring injury?” Bowa asked. “As long as he wants. I’ve never seen an infielder like him. He’s very quick. He’s got great range and he’s got a good arm.”