Minor League Notebook / Barbie Ludovise : Meacham’s Attitude Is Still Steady

Six years ago, Bobby Meacham made a decision that would ultimately save his sanity as a professional baseball player.

Playing in his first big league camp with the New York Yankees in 1983, Meacham, a former All-Southern Section player at Mater Dei High School, looked around, saw an overwhelming amount of talent and concluded that if he was obsessed with getting to the big leagues, he would drive himself mad.

“I decided then not to ever look ahead, or look to see who’s ahead of me,” Meacham said. “I just decided to work on my game and be the best I can be, and if I did that, someone, somewhere would make room for me (in the major leagues).

“That’s the only thing I occupy my mind with these days. If I always dwell on making it in the big leagues, it distracts me from what I’m doing now.”

Six years and many ups and downs later, Meacham’s attitude has brought him peace of mind despite a rather rocky career.

Today, Meacham, a shortstop/second baseman with the triple-A Buffalo Bisons, a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate, is hitting .204 with four doubles and 15 RBIs.

Before coming to Buffalo, Meacham spent six years in the Yankees’ organization, where he experienced baseball’s revolving door--from the minors to the big leagues and back again. And again and again and again . . .

From the time he was acquired by the Yankees from the Cardinals’ organization (December 1982) to the day he was traded to the Texas Rangers (December 1988), Meacham was called up and subsequently returned seven times in those six years.

Check out his roller-coaster season with the Yankees in 1983:

June 1--Meacham played for the Yankees’ triple-A affiliate at Columbus, Ohio.

June 29--Meacham was promoted to New York.

July 12--Meacham was returned to Columbus.

July 16 (morning)--Meacham was recalled by New York.

July 16 (night)--Meacham was sent back to Columbus.

Aug. 19--Meacham was recalled by New York.

Aug. 20--Meacham was sent back to Columbus.

Sept. 2--Meacham was recalled by New York, where he stayed almost an entire month, and played 20 games.

Why so many ups and downs?

Well, Meacham admitted a few errors here and there probably had something to do with it, though he said he felt the sudden demotions a bit rash at times.

“In New York, the owner (George Steinbrenner) is a little, uh, crazy you might say,” he said. “What was happening was if I screwed up, if anyone messed up that was relatively young, you’d be sent down. That’s what happened with me. I’d make a mistake here and there and that’s the way they react.

“But I learned you gotta roll with the punches. New York was a good place to play. I had a lot of fun there. It (being sent down so many times) didn’t crush me as much as most people think it did.”

After 1983, things were a bit more stable for Meacham--in 1985 he played the entire year (155 games) with the Yankees--but last year, after being sidelined during the All-Star break with a slipped disk in his neck, he was placed on the disabled list for the remainder of the year.

Then last December, the Yankees traded Meacham to the Rangers, who released him at the end of spring training. On April 5, the Pirates signed Meacham to a triple-A contract.

Meacham, 28, said all the twists and turns haven’t gotten him down.

“When I was in high school, I always dreamed of playing in the big leagues like all players do,” he said. “But I’m pretty pleased that, first of all, I made it there, and I’m not done yet. . . . So far, I don’t think I’ve come nowhere near reaching my potential.

“To use the ability that God gave me the best I know how--that’s the most important reason to continue, and that’s why I’m at where I am now. I feel I’ve never yet done what I should do. So until they send me home, I’ll keep playing.”

Add Meacham: Actually, Meacham said he doesn’t have the desire to play baseball for more than another four or five years.

“Like I told my wife, I don’t actually love, love (baseball), I don’t want to play that long,” he said. “A lot of it is kind of disgusting, really. You know, that Wade Boggs stuff. There’s so many temptations. So many bad things going on. . . .

“It’s tough, you can see so many guys getting sucked into things like that. . . . And you try to help them out, but it just gets discouraging after a while to see so many guys get sucked into the money and the fame, thinking they’re better than everyone else, better than the guy who washes their car. It turns me off. I get sick of seeing that.”

Redington watch: Nearly a year ago, Tom Redington, The Times’ player of the year as a shortstop at Esperanza in 1987, got off to a slow start in his professional baseball career. In 1988, Redington, playing for the Class-A Sumter (S.C.) Braves, an Atlanta Braves’ affiliate, hit only .195.

But Redington, now playing third base with the Class-A Burlington Braves, improved greatly this year, and he leads the Midwest League in batting average (.331), RBIs (40) and home runs (14).

However, Redington suffered his first serious injury May 31. He chipped a bone in his right ankle while trying to run out a grounder.

“He’s on the way to Atlanta to see a doctor right now,” Burlington Manager Paul Marshall said Monday. “He’ll be in a walking cast until June 9. We foresee him coming back by the 12th or 13th, but he’s very upset. He’s devastated, really.”

Marshall, who said Redington’s improvement this year is due to his getting used to wooden bats, added that Redington is “the best third baseman I’ve seen in at least six years. He’ll definitely make the (Midwest League’s) All-Star team.”

Doug Saunders, another former Esperanza star, is hitting .239 with nine doubles and 17 RBIs in his first year with the Class-A Columbia (S.C.) Mets.

Saunders, a second baseman, said the highlight of his career was being involved in a spectacular triple play in the season opener.

“The batter struck out, and our catcher threw a runner out at second, then I threw a guy out at home,” Saunders said. “Our vice presidents were there to see it. They were pretty impressed.”