Mountain Man

ARLINGTON – Rangers infielder Ramon Vazquez has made a habit of seizing career opportunities so when he saw Texas General Manager Jon Daniels sitting alone in the home dugout before a game the free agent-to-be pounced.

He hurried over to Daniels with a skip in his step and the bounce of a man hitting over .300. The ear-to-ear smile showed he was confident the career suggestion he was about share with Daniels was going to help all parties involved and the definition of win-win.

And it was.

Vazquez said Daniels needed new sunglasses and shoes fitting of a young, hip baseball executive. That’s it. The contract talk between the two will likely wait until the end of the season when the Puerto Rican has shown he is either a man who has played regularly every day or a regular everyday player.

Call it utility player limbo.

“I don’t mind being the utility because it’s a difficult job and you help your teammates when they go down,” Vazquez, 31, said. “You want to help the team and you want the manager to give you a chance and throw me out there every once and while and he has. I know what my job is and I feel real good about it.”

Vazquez can play all the infield positions but his primary job of late has been at third base. He is taking advantage of the opportunity, hitting .314 with 28 RBIs and five home runs in 61 games, after playing in a total of 104 games last season with the Rangers. He played in 34 games with Cleveland in 2006 and a combined 39 games played in 2005 with Boston and the Indians. He had career-high in at-bats (423) and games (128) with San Diego in 2002, his second year in the league, and in 2003, he had 422 at-bats in 116 games with the Padres.

“I think played well although I was never a star in San Diego but I always thought I could get better,” Vazquez said. “It just seemed like I never got the at-bats or the opportunity. When you are getting 70 or 80 at-bats in a whole season, it’s hard to come through all the time.”

Times have changed. Vazquez hit .230 in 300 at-bats for the Rangers last season but is a staple in the lineup in 2008. He has a reputation as a streaky hitter and there is some concern about his durability because he has not shown he can be a consistent player in the lineup everyday for an entire season.

Yet.

“Here, I am getting the chance to play and show them what I can do,” he said. “Last year, I think I was doing really well but I just got tired. Between the big leagues and Triple-A, I had over 400 at-bats and I hadn’t done that in a long time. This year I prepared for that mentally and physically. They gave me the chance again and I’m glad.”

Injuries to Rangers regular third baseman Hank Blalock paved the way for Vazquez’s emerging everyday status and Vazquez is not going anywhere. When Blalock returns from the disabled list, he is slated to move to first base. Rangers rookie German Duran has also filled in at third base.

“We’ve been doing a good job of monitoring (Vazquez’s) play. We are not letting him get too fatigued and able to keep him a lot stronger,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “He has been playing quality baseball and he’s very smart. He’s been a savior. Hank went down last year and he stepped in. Hank went down again this year and he stepped in and saved us. He’s been doing a good job for us.”

Vazquez remains grounded. He grew up in the middle of the island in mountain town of Cayey and said when he was not playing baseball, he was usually fishing or camping with his father. He said his past is filled with memories of watching the local amateur team, the Cayey  Torros, on the weekends and dreaming of playing in the Major Leagues.

Now, his desire is to finish the season strong, land a contract and hopefully get the opportunity to play for Puerto Rico in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

He also wants to play for the Rangers next season.

“I love it here,” he said. “I’m trying not to think about free agency right now because right now the plan is to play good and go to the playoffs. Whatever happens, happens. This is the best clubhouse I have ever been in, by far.  It’s easy to get along with everybody here.”