Thompson happy to be home with Stars

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, March 25, 1998 | 9:59 a.m.

PEORIA, Ariz. --- Sometimes, as the adage goes, you have to take one step back to go two steps forward.

Las Vegas Stars first baseman Jason Thompson believes in that philosophy.

Why else would the 6-4, 205-pound Thompson, who played so well for the Stars in 1996 that he earned a September call-up with the parent club San Diego Padres, be happy to be returning to Las Vegas this year?

"Las Vegas is a beautiful city," Thompson said here Tuesday. "I'm considering moving and buying a house there. I love the desert."

But Thompson's best-laid plans call for him to be swinging his left-handed bat for another organization following 1998.

"I see myself as something as a free agent at the end of the year," said Thompson, who hit. 300 with 21 home runs and drove in 57 runs in just 111 games with the Stars in 1996.

"I came back here to play for (Stars' manager) Jerry (Royster). I had other offers, but I wanted to play for him. I know he'll do everything he can to help prepare me for the big leagues again."

So does the 26-year former University of Arizona star really have what it takes to play in the big leagues?

"You better believe he does," Royster says matter-of-factly.

Thompson hit only .224 in 13 games and 49 at-bats with the Padres in 1996 with two homers and six RBIs.

Still, it isn't unusual for a AAA star to struggle his first year in the big leagues.

But Thompson's rise to the top took a sharp detour a few months later when the Padres included him as part of the package to obtain highly touted Japanese pitcher Hideki Irabu, who eventually would be shipped to the New York Yankees.

Instead of vying for a spot with a San Diego club that is only a 70-minute drive from his Laguna Hills, Calif., home, Thompson suddenly found himself property of the famed Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League.

Talk about culture shock.

"I got a little homesick, to be honest," said Thompson. "You can talk with your friends on the phone, but when you don't see them for eight months it can be tough."

It can be even tougher when the manager of your team sours on you.

"He told me he had no intention of playing me," said Thompson, who had a two-year contract with the Marines. "They actually did me a favor and released me."

Thompson hit just .250 with 15 home runs last season in Japan.

"Part of the reason for that is that the pitching is that much better than anything you'll see at the AAA level here," said Thompson. "There are quite a few pitchers over there who could throw in the big leagues over here."

Another reason for Thompson's lack of success was that he had some mechanical problems with his swing.

Enter Royster.

"He came back from Japan and he wasn't doing some of the things we taught him here," said Royster. "No one else knows him like I do. We talked about it and have worked on some things and I think he's starting to hit the ball the way we know he can again here."

Surprisingly, Thompson has no regrets about his year in Japan.

"Culturally, it is a big adjustment any time you go to another country," Thompson said. "But I enjoyed living there. Things have become very westernized over there. ... To be perfectly honest, I'd consider going back there to play again if the opportunity presented itself."

Still, plan one is for Thompson to give his best shot at getting back into the major leagues.

"He just needs to keep working on things," Royster said. "Jason is a good student of the game and I think he still has a chance to return to the big leagues. I'm counting on him having a big year for us this season."