Clapinski has itch that age won’t cure

Friday, April 18, 2003 | 11:03 a.m.

51s snapshot

Ross had spent quality time watching his swings on video tape, and he quickly determined that he needed to keep his head and feet more still, among other things. Ross then went 3-for-7 in Tacoma, with a home run.

He continued his transformation with another homer, a two-run shot, Wednesday night in the 51s' 5-0 victory in Portland, and his 5-for-15 mini-tear has Ross perched near the Mendoza Line at .188.

(That figurative line of .200 is named after Mario Mendoza, who actually hit .215 for three teams from 1974-82.)

Only a few games into the season, Chris Clapinski and Calvin Murray made a stark discovery as they sat near each other in the 51s' clubhouse at Cashman Field.

They are two of the team's three oldest players.

"I remember those days when I was the 25-year-old and (saying), 'My god, you're 30? What, you're 30 years old?' " said Murray, 31. "Now, I'm that guy. My goodness. It's amazing."

Clapinski is three weeks younger than Murray. The dean of the team, pitcher Rodney Myers, will be 34 in June.

"It's probably the first time we've been the oldest guys on a team," Clapinski said. "That's not to say that we're old. We had guys last year, like Dennis Springer and Phil Hiatt and Jeff Branson, who were in their mid-30s.

"It's just a situation where maybe you're on the downswing of your career. But there's always things you can do ... there's always people out there who got their opportunity when they were 30 and got to the major leagues. Edgar Martinez is a perfect example."

Martinez, 40, hit 15 home runs and drove in 59 runs, hitting .277, for Seattle last season and signed a one-year deal with the Mariners over the winter.

"Sometimes it's just, you get that one lucky break and take advantage of it," Clapinski said, "and you never know when it's going to happen."

So far this season, the utilitarian Clapinski has not played the same role on consecutive days for Las Vegas. He has started at shortstop and third base, filled in late at short against Edmonton and pinch-hit the next game against the Trappers.

He has hit second in the order, ninth, third and sixth.

Still, with all the uncertainty of where he's either playing or hitting, Clapinski entered tonight's game in Portland with a splendid .364 batting average.

"You can never get too good at it," he said. "The game will always find a way to humble you and give you perspective. Whether it's making a couple of errors or going 0-for-20, it's going to happen. The game isn't easy, and you always have to continue to work."

Clapinski earned a degree in sociology from California and wonders where he would be in that field if he had decided to pursue it 11 or 12 years ago.

Instead, he scratches and scrapes, if not dreams, to get another shot in the majors while balancing the reality of providing for his wife, Jodi, and their 20-month-old daughter, Kaitlin.

According to Clapinski, the average Triple-A free agent earns between $8,000 and $10,000 a month for the five-month season, which has allowed him just enough to begin construction on a new home in the Bermuda Dunes area of Palm Springs.

Clapinski moved his wife and child from Cape Canaveral, Fla., so Kaitlin could grow up having close ties with her grandparents -- Chris' parents.

Not long ago, Clapinski moved furniture to earn a living during two winters, and he spent one working construction with his father, pounding 3-foot metal rebar into parking lot asphalt.

He no longer needs to work in the offseason, and his wife hasn't had to work since becoming a mother. Clapinski has acquired a real-estate license and might one day parlay his construction knowledge into his own contractor's business.

He'd like to use his baseball knowledge in a coaching capacity. For now, there is the tingle of a call-up to Los Angeles that keeps Clapinski showing up at Cashman at 1 p.m. to begin working for a game that won't start until 7.

The first one came in 1997, when he was with Florida's Triple-A team in Charlotte, N.C. He only spent eight days with the Marlins, but it was unforgettable because they proceeded to beat Cleveland in seven games in the World Series.

Jim Leyland was the manager of the Marlins, and Kevin Brown, Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla and Alex Fernandez were just some of the stalwart figures in that clubhouse.

Clapinski didn't get in any games.

"It was one of the moments you'll never forget," he said. "We were flying from Syracuse to Charlotte the next day, but I went ahead to Charlotte, packed up my bags and flew to Miami that afternoon."

Ultimately, Clapinski got his first hit off David Wells, in Toronto. He hit his one and only home run off Jose Lima. Between 1999 and 2000, he played in 70 games for the Marlins and hit .267.

He has been called up to the majors eight times.

"You remember every single one of them," Clapinski said. "You know every city, every time, how it happened, who you went up for and why you went up. You wish you had videotape of each one, to look back and show people how magical it is.

"Because it is magical. It's a great experience ... every night, there could be that one moment where you get that feeling, you're running around the bases and you've got goose bumps, and you feel like you're 9 years old again."

In the clubhouse, Clapinski is engaging. He has a quick wit and a sharp tongue, and few will outwork him. Many know where to go for a tip or two.

"There's no substitute for experience," Murray said. "It's nice to have him around. He's seen a lot and been through a lot, and that's invaluable. A lot of these guys haven't been through half of what he's been through, so it's nice that he's here."

Whenever his career ends, Clapinski will be proud of what he sees in the mirror.

"I've never been looked at as a great prospect or talented player," he said. "I just tried to make the most of it and get as far as I can with it. I've met a lot of great people, and I have a lot of respect for a lot of those people.

"It's the respect I have for those people, and I hope they have for me, that makes me keep coming out here and doing what I can do. There's nothing greater than the respect of your peers. That's what you try to obtain." This is the debut of a weekly feature by sports writer Rob Miech designed to take readers behind the scenes with the Las Vegas 51s.