Cochrane Catches On With the Mariners : Troy High School Graduate Showing His Value as a Utility Player

Dave Cochrane’s first venture into the major leagues lasted about a month in 1986 with the Chicago White Sox. It was about as uneventful as it was short.

He was a power-hitting third baseman in the White Sox minor league organization back then and earned a promotion to the big club at the end of the season.

Once in the majors, he hit .191 with a home run and two RBIs in 62 at-bats. After that, the White Sox weren’t in a hurry to give him another shot.

The next season, Cochrane, a 1981 graduate of Troy High School in Fullerton, wasn’t called up.

And his fortunes didn’t change immediately when he was traded to Seattle for pitcher Ken Spratke after the 1987 season.

Although it was beginning to look as if Cochrane, 26, would be a career minor leaguer, he didn’t get discouraged. Instead, he kept learning to play different positions, waiting and hoping.

“It was frustrating, but I didn’t want to give up,” he said. “I was close enough to making it and I wasn’t doing too badly in triple A so I kept trying.”

Cochrane finally was called up by the Mariners on May 1. But this time around, he had a lot more to offer than one position, a fluid swing and a strong throwing arm.

Sure, he still plays third base. But that was just the start of his list of credits.

He plays first, second, third, shortstop, catcher and the outfield. In short, he’s become the Mariners’ utility player. Being a switch-hitter adds even more to his versatility.

“He gives me great flexibility,” said Seattle Manager Jim Lefebvre. “The first thing you want to do is make the majors, then the key to sticking is showing that you can do a lot of things. Dave has done that. . . . He’s very valuable to this ballclub.”

Cochrane is used mainly as a late-inning replacement and pinch-hitter by the Mariners.

He is hitting .308 (four for 13) as a pinch-hitter with two RBIs. He’s hitting .219 overall with three doubles, a triple, three home runs and 11 RBIs.

Catching was the final position Cochrane added early this season while playing for Calgary, Seattle’s triple-A team. He was the last cut in spring training and the Mariners asked him to work out behind the plate in the minors.

He had caught some with the White Sox, but rarely in a game. He was drafted as a third baseman by the New York Mets and turned down a scholarship to Arizona State to sign. Cochrane was traded from the Mets to the White Sox in 1985.

He made his major league catching debut last week when the Mariners played the Angels in Seattle. He has played all five infield positions and left field in a little more than two months.

“At first, I wasn’t catching. I was more of a backstop and not a very good one,” Cochrane joked. “But I’m getting better. I’ll do whatever it takes to stay here. Jim Lefebvre has given me a chance and I want to really take advantage of it.

“One of our coaches, Rusty Kuntz, gave me a great piece of advice. Even the worst day in the minors is better than the best day in triple A.”

From almost the day he was called up, Cochrane has been teased by teammate Mike Schooler, a relief pitcher with 22 saves.

They played together nine seasons ago on a Babe Ruth League 16-18-year-old all-star team. Back then, Cochrane was limited to pitching and playing a little third base while Schooler played shortstop.

“That’s what I always tease him about,” Schooler said. “I tell them (his teammates) that I played short and Dave didn’t. Now here he is still trying to make it as a shortstop.”

Said Cochrane: “He talks about that all the time. He always tells everyone that he played shortstop and I didn’t.”

Cochrane doesn’t worry much about where he plays now; he’s just happy to be playing in the major leagues.