BASEBALL / GARY KLEIN : Milstien Counting the Seasons Until the Red Sox Come Calling

David Milstien is only 22, but when it comes to his career as a professional baseball player Milstien said, “It feels like I have been playing forever.”

Indeed, this is his sixth season in the Boston Red Sox organization. He started in rookie ball as a 5-foot-10, 155-pound 17-year-old shortstop fresh out of Simi Valley High. Today, he is a 6-foot, 180-pound second baseman for Pawtucket (R.I.), Boston’s affiliate in the triple-A International League.

Milstien was promoted two weeks ago from double-A New Britain (Conn.), for whom he toiled for 2 1/2 seasons.

“At first I was a little disappointed that I had to start the season in double-A again,” Milstien said. “But then I thought, ‘Well, there’s an opportunity to improve some things because if I’m not ready to play triple-A, they aren’t going to have me up here.’

“Ultimately, this isn’t where I want to be anyway.”

Milstien’s goal, of course, is to be playing at Fenway Park, which he visited twice this season on days off.

“The feeling you get when you walk into that park is incredible,” he said. “It’s like the history of baseball is flashing before your eyes.”

Milstien’s road to Boston began with a year in rookie league and two years in Class-A before his stint at New Britain and current station at Pawtucket, for which he is batting .273.

It has been a consistent, if unspectacular, climb for Milstien, who was selected in the eighth round of the 1986 draft. He never has been selected to an all-star team, nor has he batted .300 as a pro.

“I haven’t had any really outstanding years,” Milstien said. “There’s been nothing major in terms of an accomplishment other than surviving a minor league season.”

That in itself, however, is a noteworthy achievement, especially for a middle infielder. Milstien has avoided serious injury while playing smart, consistent defense.

“Nothing is for sure in this game,” Milstien said. “One week you can be the king of the organization and next week you’re on the fence.

“Right now, I feel pretty good about the way things are going. There’s only one other place I’d like to be than here, and that’s in the big leagues.”

I Remember You Dept.: Tim DeGrasse has pitched only 11 innings this season, but it almost goes without saying that he has left an impression on those who have watched him perform for the Hamilton (Ontario) Redbirds, the St. Louis Cardinals’ affiliate in the Class-A New York-Penn League.

DeGrasse, a 22-year-old right-hander who played at Notre Dame High and Valley College, was selected in June by the Cardinals in the 29th round of the draft out of UC Santa Barbara.

DeGrasse’s amateur career was characterized by his eccentric and hard-nosed approach to the game. He has maintained that reputation while filling a middle-relief role for Hamilton.

“I definitely try to make my presence felt when I’m out there. I’m hyper,” said DeGrasse, who is 0-1 with a 4.09 earned-run average in nine games. “When Ted Simmons (the Cardinals’ director of player development) saw me pitch, he was probably laughing at me, but that’s cool. He’ll remember me. When my stats improve, he’ll see my name and know who that is.”

DeGrasse would like to move into the starting rotation for Hamilton, but his goal for the season is more modest.

“I come ready to play every day,” he said. “I just want to get to spring training next year to let the Cardinals know that I exist.”

Up the ladder: Mike Lieberthal, the Philadelphia Phillies’ No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, last week was promoted from Spartanburg (S.C.) of the Class-A South Atlantic League to Clearwater (Fla.) in the more highly regarded Class-A Florida State League.

Lieberthal, a catcher from Westlake High, batted better than .300 at Spartanburg for most of the first half and was one of the top defensive catchers in the league.

Lieberthal was seven for 18 in his first five games at Clearwater.

Disabled list: Matt Whisenant, a former Glendale College left-hander who is also in the Philadelphia organization, this week is expected to rejoin the rotation for Batavia (N.Y.) in the Class-A New York-Penn League after spending 15 days on the disabled list.

Whisenant, who played at La Canada High, was 1-0 with an 0.92 ERA in five games before he was sidelined because of elbow problems.

He had 24 strikeouts and 17 walks in 19 innings.

New frontier: Chris Haslock, a former pitcher at Burroughs High who played 3 1/2 years in the San Diego Padres organization, has joined the independent Miami Miracle in the Florida State League.

Haslock, a right-hander, was 0-0 with a 7.13 ERA in 17 2/3 innings (10 games) for Wichita in the double-A Texas League when he was given his unconditional release.

Haslock originally was drafted by the Padres out of Cal State Dominguez Hills in 1988. He played three seasons in Class-A leagues before he was promoted to Wichita earlier this season.

Recommended reading: Although his tenure was short, A. Bartlett Giamatti will forever be remembered by fans as the commissioner who banned Pete Rose from baseball.

But Giamatti, who served as commissioner from April 1, 1989, until his death Sept. 1 of the same year, was first and foremost a fan. Of baseball, especially, but of all sport, leisure and play as well.

In “Take Time for Paradise: Americans and Their Games,” (Summit Books, $7.95) Giamatti, a former president of Yale, is eloquent and philosophical.

The 112-page book, published in 1989, is full of, but does not get bogged down by, literary references.

The chapter titled “Baseball as Narrative” is particularly entertaining and will cause even the most casual readers to reflect on their own reasons for becoming fans.