Catchers of the Day

It could pass for a father-son fantasy camp. You know, bonding through baseball, with pop reliving the past and the kid dreaming of the future.

There are two lockers on each side of the entrance to the Dodgertown training room. On the left, Sandy Alomar Jr. and Dioner Navarro dress. On the right are Pat Borders and Russell Martin.

Alomar, 39, and Borders, 42, are fathers, absolutely. They have 12 children between them.

And they are becoming father figures to Navarro and Martin, who had birthdays on the eve of spring training, Navarro turning 22, Martin turning 23. Martin wasn’t born when Borders made his professional debut in 1982, and Navarro wasn’t born when Alomar signed in 1983.

A mentoring relationship is precisely what the Dodgers envisioned when Alomar and Borders were signed, then assigned lockers next to the prize prospects.

“It’s good to have guys like that around,” Martin said of the veterans. “They have so much experience, so much knowledge, and they can walk you through situations.

“Borders was a World Series MVP and Alomar was a rookie of the year and an All-Star. You couldn’t ask for more.”

Actually, the Dodgers did. The front office is uneasy about the catching situation, despite the healthy atmosphere, as evidenced by their pursuit of free agent Bengie Molina late in the off-season. Alomar and Borders are too old to play every day; Navarro and Martin might be too young.

Molina would have been just right, but he spurned a one-year, $6-million offer to sign for $1 million less with the Toronto Blue Jays, saying the Dodgers told him he would have no chance of re-signing after the season because of the presence of Navarro and Martin.

“It’s not like we are going into spring training with Jason Varitek or Pudge Rodriguez as our catcher,” Manager Grady Little said. “But those guys were rookies too at one time.”

The job appears to be Navarro’s to lose. He was impressive in a 50-game look last season, batting .273 and handling the pitching staff with maturity. Alomar, who has caught fewer than 100 games every season since 1998, is expected to be the backup.

Martin, who spent last season at double A, would be ticketed for triple-A Las Vegas. Borders, who has shuttled between triple A and the majors the last seven seasons, might remain in Vero Beach, which is close to his Lake Wales home and would enable him to work with even younger catchers.

“As far as turning over our pitching staff to young catchers, it’s not something you worry about with veteran pitchers,” Little said. “You worry when there is a young pitcher and a young catcher, then your instructions have to be right on.”

Accelerating the development of Navarro and Martin is part of the job description for Alomar and Borders. And they know it.

“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t clear about my role,” Alomar said. “I know I can help them.”

He remembers what it was like competing against another touted prospect. Alomar came up in the San Diego Padre organization a year behind Benito Santiago and was forced to spend two full seasons in triple A, coincidentally at Las Vegas.

He was Pacific Coast League player of the year in 1988, then went back and was named player of the year again in 1989. He was impatient and felt as if his career were dissolving in front of him.

But a trade to the Cleveland Indians provided opportunity. He was rookie of the year in 1990 and has played in two World Series and made six All-Star teams.

Now those two years in Las Vegas seem inconsequential.

“I needed the seasoning,” he said. “I thought I was ready for the big leagues, but they wanted me to play every day. All I did was benefit from that.”

Martin has no problem playing in triple A -- it is a logical progression for him -- but he blanched at the idea of spending two years there.

“That would be hard,” he said. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

Borders, like Alomar, can recount a tale of perseverance to Martin, who converted to catcher from third base in 2003. Borders also started as a third baseman, and in his sixth pro season he was still in Class A, making the transition to catcher.

His first big league camp came in 1988 with the Blue Jays, when he and several other rookies were fighting for the backup job behind Ernie Whitt. Borders began the season at triple A but was promoted early in the season and in his first game had three hits and five runs batted in.

He went on to become World Series MVP in 1992, was the catcher on another World Series champion team in 1993 and helped the U.S. team to the gold medal in the 2000 Olympics. This will be his 25th professional season.

Now the six years it took for him to get out of Class A seem inconsequential.

“Looking back, maybe I just wasn’t ready until I actually got the opportunity,” he said.

Navarro and Martin are being rushed by comparison. Although to them, the progress seems normal.

“I’m in a position anybody would love to be in,” Navarro said. “But I still have to work hard. I still have to prove I can play in the big leagues every day for a full season.”

Navarro’s advantage over Martin is in maturity. Although a year younger, Navarro has endured personal struggles and been forced to grow up fast. He carries himself with the confidence of a veteran, while Martin, for all his talent, is every bit the wide-eyed prospect glad to be in his first big league camp.

Navarro came to the U.S. from Venezuela at 16, met his wife in an Internet chat room and has been married for three years. Sherley Navarro suffered a brain aneurysm in 2003 and nearly died.

Last September -- with Navarro trying to establish himself as the Dodger catcher -- their son was born premature by caesarean section and spent three weeks in intensive care.

“At that moment my baby’s health was all that mattered to me,” he said. “I’ve had to balance my family and my job. I had to become a man earlier than some of these guys.”

He bought a home near Tampa, Fla., where he lives with Sherley, his 7-year-old stepson, Gerson, and now healthy 5-month-old Dioner Abdiel. He knows the starting job is his, as long as he continues to progress.

“I’m 22, I have a brand-new home and a family, so I’m feeling pretty blessed,” he said. “I have what many people work for all their lives. And I have it young. Hopefully there are many, many blessings to come.”

Martin hasn’t given up on making the team out of spring training. A Canadian, he pulled out of the World Baseball Classic because he wants to devote his full attention to making the team.

“I talked to Grady and asked him what he thought and he said: ‘The only thing I can tell you is that the catching situation is not predetermined,’ ” Martin said. “When he said that I was, like, ‘OK. That’s good enough for me to stay.’ ”

The battle will intensify once Grapefruit League games begin March 2.

Navarro, a switch-hitter who rarely strikes out, must continue to develop as a hitter and improve his throwing. He threw out a below-average 19.5% of base stealers last season, although much of the problem was attributed to the pitchers’ lack of attentiveness.

Martin must show he can hit big league pitching and handle big league pitchers with maturity.

“The young catchers are at a point where they need to take every opportunity to impress us,” Little said.

Alomar and Borders will be around to help, but they can’t follow Navarro and Martin onto the field. And the veterans can’t spend all their time baby-sitting; they must get themselves ready to play.

“The young guys inspire me with their zeal to get to the big leagues,” Borders said. “It revitalizes your own desire.”

Inspiration, it seems, is a two-way street. The Dodgers can only hope that the catch-as-catch-can mix of young and old, of accomplishments and potential, provides sufficient production here and now.