Junior Achievement

It’s about 2 1/2 hours before game time and Dodger players are on the field, losing to their children during their annual family day game at Dodger Stadium.

Not far away, Gary Matthews Jr. sits in the visiting Chicago Cubs’ clubhouse and fondly remembers his childhood when he played in such games.

His father, Gary Matthews, played 16 seasons in the major leagues and is now a member of the Toronto Blue Jays’ broadcast team.

The younger Matthews, who attended Granada Hills High and Mission College, would often tag along with his father during the summer.

Matthews was 10 in 1984, when he served as batboy while his dad helped the Chicago Cubs to their first postseason appearance in 39 years.

“I developed a lot of my love for the game during that summer,” he said. “It was an incredible time for me.”

Matthews, who turns 26 on Aug. 25, is no longer a kid, but he is still cutting his teeth as an outfielder in the major leagues.

The fact that he’s doing it at Wrigley Field where he first discovered the game is not lost on Matthews.

“To think how I’ve come full circle,” he said. “I try not to dwell on it too much because it’s so overwhelming. What are the chances of all this happening?”

Slim.

A 13th-round draft choice by San Diego in 1993, Matthews spent four seasons in Class A and was a career .263 hitter during six minor-league seasons before he was called up to the Padres for 23 games last season.

He came to the Cubs in a spring-training trade that sent pitcher Rodney Myers to San Diego.

Now he’s sharing an outfield with Sammy Sosa.

“It’s like a dream come true to be wearing a Cub uniform,” Matthews said. “I couldn’t have written a better script.”

But it’s still going to take a while before he lands a starring role.

Matthews, 6 feet 3 and 200 pounds, has great range, blazing speed and a strong arm.

And he was batting only .206.

“He has tremendous tools,” said Billy Williams, the club’s first-base coach and outfield instructor. “A year, year and a half from now, you’re going to see a very polished ballplayer.”

Until then, Matthews will continue to arrive at the ballpark early, take extra batting practice and hone his swing from both sides of the plate.

Much of that extra time has been spent working with batting instructor Jeff Pentland.

“I’ve spent about twice as much time with Gary as I do with most of the other guys,” Pentland said.

They’ve spent countless hours tinkering with Matthews’ swing in the batting cage. They’ve studied videotapes of his game performances. They’ve even studied tape of Ted Williams.

In Matthews, Pentland sees unlimited potential, a surprise since Pentland had such low expectations when Matthews was dealt to the Cubs on March 23.

“Looking at his numbers, I thought we were getting a guy who was just hanging on [to his career],” Pentland said. “I didn’t realize what a great athlete we were getting.”

That talent has shown already.

Last week, Matthews made two acrobatic catches in a game against the Colorado Rockies at Wrigley. Both appeared that night on ESPN and CNN.

“He is just a great defensive outfielder, there’s no question about his defense,” said Billy Williams, a Hall of Fame outfielder with the Cubs in the 1960s and ‘70s.

Matthews’ bat is beginning to come around.

The timing of his improved hitting was perfect: during a three-game series in Los Angeles, where Matthews left the maximum 30 passes for friends and family each night.

On Tuesday, he entered the game late against the Dodgers and lined a shot off Darren Dreifort’s wrist for an infield single. Dreifort left the game soon after.

In his second at-bat, Matthews laced a triple down the right-field line.

“That’s the best I’ve seen him swing the bat all year,” Cub coach Sandy Alomar said. “Things are coming around for him.”

For his effort, Matthews was rewarded, if you can call it that, with a start against Dodger ace Kevin Brown on Wednesday. He went hitless in five at-bats.

Matthews isn’t the only son of a former major leaguer on the Cubs.

Outfielder Damon Buford of Harvard-Westlake High, son of Don Buford, has played more than Matthews, and has 14 home runs and 36 runs batted in.

Pretty soon, Matthews might not even be the only son in his family playing major league ball. Younger brother Delvon is playing for the Milwaukee Brewers’ rookie-level team.

*

It’s 90 minutes before game time and the Dodgers’ children are leaving the field.

Matthews, who has spent the time taking batting practice in a cage under the bleachers, gets ready to join his teammates on the field for regular batting practice.

He pauses for a moment and again thinks back to his childhood.

“I remember one day during my dad’s last season,” he said. “I spent the whole game here at Dodger Stadium sitting on a little wall between the visitor’s dugout and the [photographers’ well].”

He watched his father strike out against the Dodgers’ Jerry Reuss.

As the older Matthews passed his son on the way back to the dugout, he promised he would tag Reuss if he got another chance.

The next at-bat, Matthews slugged a home run.

“It seems like only yesterday that I was high-fiving him as he came back to the dugout,” the proud son said.

With a name like Matthews, he has much to live up to in Chicago.

His father, known as Sarge, was recognized as a clubhouse leader, all-star and potent slugger.

Some sons struggle throughout their careers, trying to step away from their fathers’ reputation.

Matthews has embraced the attention.

“To follow in my father’s footsteps is an unbelievable honor,” he said. “I want to carry on the Matthews tradition.”