Royals Are Hoping to Develop Mayne Attraction at Catcher

Mike Mayne strode down the aisle Friday afternoon at Anaheim Stadium, stopping to talk with a ballplayer or two through the screen.

Mayne has seen his share of players make it to the major leagues from Orange Coast College, where he is head coach. And when he gets the chance, he likes to chat with a former pupil passing through town.

“It’s always a thrill,” he said, pausing. “But it’s a real special thrill when it’s your son.”

It has been more than 15 months since Brent Mayne was drafted out of Cal State Fullerton, a first-round selection and the 13th pick overall in the 1989 draft.

But there he is, in the major leagues with the Kansas City Royals, who called him up about two weeks ago, the night double-A Memphis finished its season by winning its league championship.

“It’s been great,” Brent said, sitting at his stall in a back corner of the visitors’ clubhouse. “I didn’t know I was going to be called up at all. It’s a great experience, just being around and getting my feet wet.”

Making it to the majors in September, when rosters are expanded to 40 players, is not the same as being called up at other times of the season, of course.

But for Mayne, whose professional career spans only seven games in instructional league and a season in double-A, it is an indication of the Royals’ plans for him.

“He’s going to be in our big league picture very soon,” said Kansas City Manager John Wathan, who might give Mayne, a left-handed batter, his second start in the majors on Sunday when the Royals go against the Angels’ Scott Lewis, the only right-hander the Royals will face in the series.

Mayne will be with the Royals in spring training, and Wathan said Mayne “possibly” could make the team next year.

“We have to do what’s best for his development,” Wathan said. “If he was here with (catcher Mike) Macfarlane, and what he’s been able to do, (Brent) wouldn’t get to play that much.”

The Royals gambled by making Mayne their first pick of the 1989 draft. Mayne had hit .393 as a sophomore in 1988, setting a Big West Conference record with a 38-game hitting streak and helping the Titans to the College World Series. In 1989, he hit .350, but missed a good number of games with injuries, raising a question about his durability.

Mayne answered that question shortly after he was assigned to the Royals’ Baseball City team in the Florida State League, a single-A instructional league. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the answer he wanted to give.

He hit .542 in seven games. But what had begun as a hip-pointer ended as a lower-back strain, and he was through for the year.

The Royals showed confidence by assigning him to Memphis at the beginning of this season, and Mayne hasn’t been hurt since.

“He had an outstanding year in double-A,” Wathan said.

Initially, Mayne didn’t see it that way.

“It was frustrating at some points,” said Mayne, who opened the year hitting .230 to .240 as he adjusted to double A ball. “I failed more than I ever did before, swinging the bat. Catching was never a big problem.”

He began to pull it together, and for about the past three months he hit .300, which raised his season average to .267, with two homers and 61 runs batted in.

Wathan gave Mayne his first major-league start Sept. 18 against Minnesota. Mayne caught, and got his first hit in his first at-bat, going one for three with an RBI. The Royals lost, 10-4.

Since then, Mayne has played one other game as a late-inning replacement, and went one for two.

“He’s leading Kansas City in hitting right now,” his father said, laughing. “He’s two for five.”

His future looks good, in part because of who is ahead of him. Bob Boone, 42, and on a one-year contract, has been bothered by an injury and has played only 40 games. Macfarlane has been the regular catcher, hitting .258 with six homers and 58 RBIs.

So there is room for a young talent like Mayne.

“I feel good about it,” he said. “It seems like there’s room to move around in this organization if you play well and do your job . . . I just enjoy playing. It doesn’t matter where it is. I enjoy being around and playing baseball.”