MINOR LEAGUE NOTEBOOK : Amaral Hopes for a Second Chance

Rich Amaral had just finished playing a May 26 game for triple-A Calgary when he got the news. After eight years in the minors, the former Estancia High School and Orange Coast College infielder was finally going to the big leagues.

He walked out of Calgary Manager Keith Bodie’s office, ready to scream and shout, only he couldn’t say a word. The Seattle Mariners hadn’t notified infielder Jeff Schaefer of the roster change, so they couldn’t announce the transaction.

“It was a weird situation,” Amaral, 29, said. “It was the happiest moment of my life and I couldn’t tell anyone. I had to come back to the clubhouse an hour later, after everyone left, to pack my bags.”

He barely had a chance to unpack them. Two days later, in the first inning of his second major league game, Amaral was involved in a second-base collision with Kansas City’s Kirk Gibson, who slid into Amaral on a stolen-base attempt.

Amaral finished the game, but he could barely move his left arm when he woke up the next day. A doctor discovered torn ligaments in his elbow, and Amaral was placed on the disabled list. He sat out six weeks and then returned to Calgary, where he has played for the past month.

Eight long years, Amaral had waited for the call. He finally gets it and spends just two days in the majors.

“It’s definitely not the way you dream it to happen,” said Amaral, who is hitless in five major league at-bats. “But right now I’m concentrating on doing the things I have to do to get back there. Hopefully I’ll get another shot this year or next year.”

Amaral has done just about all he can do at triple A. The shortstop/second baseman has a .346 batting average in the Pacific Coast League with 21 doubles, 31 runs batted in and 20 stolen bases in 69 games.

Last season, Amaral batted .301 and led the PCL in doubles (39) for Vancouver, the Chicago White Sox’s triple-A affiliate.

But Amaral, who hit .520 (13 of 25) with seven RBIs from July 28-Aug. 3 to earn PCL Player of the Week honors, doesn’t expect to be promoted just because he has put together some impressive statistics.

“A lot of times you can be playing real well and there’s no room for you--that’s baseball,” Amaral said. “The Mariners don’t really need me now. The guys there are doing the job, they’re winning, and it’s tough to make a move when those things are happening. But you never know--someone could get hurt tonight.”

A brief taste of the big leagues seemed to rejuvenate Amaral.

“I actually saw it and knew this is where I want to play,” Amaral said. “At least now I have a memory of it and I know what to expect. It gives me that much more incentive to get back up there.”

Amaral, a 1980 Estancia graduate who played one season at Orange Coast and two at UCLA, was a second-round pick of the Chicago Cubs in 1983. But he never rose higher than double A in six seasons (1983-88) with their organization.

He spent two years with the White Sox, playing one season at double-A Birmingham and one at triple-A Vancouver, before signing with the Mariners as a six-year free agent last November.

“Obviously I haven’t progressed as quickly as I’d like, but I still love the game,” Amaral said. “There’s something about it I don’t want to give up. I still love putting the uniform on, my wife enjoys the game and it’s exciting for us to travel. I’m going to keep doing it as long as they pay me.”

Amaral doesn’t know how long that will be. Organizations usually release older players who aren’t deemed prospects to make way for younger players, but he’s making it difficult for the Mariners to release him.

“If I go into a tailspin and hit .200, of course they could release me,” Amaral said. “But as long as I keep playing well, I don’t think that will happen.”

Under control: With control has come confidence, and with confidence has come an outstanding season for Greg Hansell, the former Kennedy High School pitcher now with the Class-A Bakersfield Dodgers.

Hansell, a 6-foot-4 right-hander, has a 14-6 record, 2.69 earned-run average and has struck out 121 and walked 37 in 130 1/3 innings. The 1989 Kennedy graduate, who is in contention for the California League lead in victories, was a starting pitcher in the league’s all-star game in June.

“I used to have a confidence problem because I wasn’t sure of my pitches,” Hansell said. “But now, after throwing all of my pitches for strikes, I’m pitching as well as I know I can.”

Hansell, primarily a fastball pitcher in high school, has picked up a changeup and curve in the past two seasons. But it wasn’t until this year that he was able to gain command of his repertoire.

“I couldn’t throw off-speed pitches for strikes before,” Hansell said. “When you have to keep coming back with fastballs, nine of 10 batters are going to hit those.”

Catch of the day: Former Cal State Fullerton designated hitter Frank Charles has had many successful plate appearances in his first minor league season--he’s batting .319 with six home runs and 32 RBIs for the Everett (Wash.) Giants, San Francisco’s Class-A team in the Northwest League.

But Charles is even more excited about his behind-the-plate appearances. Relegated to designated hitter and reserve catcher at Fullerton the past two seasons, Charles is finally getting a chance to catch on a regular basis.

“It’s nice to get behind the plate again--I love it,” said Charles, who is catching three or four games a week. “Everything is coming back to me and I’m learning a lot of new stuff.”