Luke Carlin’s long baseball road leads him to A’s

Revue de presse

By Susan Slusser, SFGate, Saturday, March 7, 2015

MESA, Ariz. — Luke Carlin might be new to the A’s, but he seems to know everyone. He has played with or against so many players in Oakland’s clubhouse that he has even faced the PR guy, former A’s minor-league pitcherZak Basch.

That’s what happens when you’re a 34-year-old catcher who has kicked around for years, trying to keep the dream of the major leagues alive.

Carlin, in camp as a non-roster invitee, is playing for his seventh organization. He has had four brief stints in the majors: 36 games with Padres in 2008, 10 with Arizona in 2009, six with Cleveland in 2010 and four more with the Indians in 2012.

Photo ci-dessus : Journeyman catcher Luke Carlin (right) accompanies Barry Zito before a spring-training game in Mesa, Ariz.

“Doesn’t Johnny Cash have a song for that?” asked Carlin, an “I’ve Been Everywhere” man if ever there was one:

He was born in Maryland and grew up in Quebec speaking both English and French, thanks to his French Canadian mother, Christine. He went to college in Boston, at Northeastern. He has played for three teams in the Dominican Republic, including Caribbean Series champion Aguilas in 2006, and he’s been on Team Canada as a junior-level player and for both World Baseball Classics.

He has never stuck in one place. For all of Carlin’s skill and experience behind the plate, he’s never hit much; .179 at the big-league level and .245 in 13 minor-league seasons. He has been a free agent six times.

“Obviously, it would have been nice when I got my opportunity when I was younger to perform well,” he said. “In 2008, I hit like a buck 70 (actually .149), and the Padres said see you later, which I understand. I’ve just kind of bounced around from there, not really getting a lot of opportunities — but not pushing the envelope, either. Guys that kind of go up and down need the opportunity, but when you get it, you’ve got to do it.”

Instead, Carlin has spent more than a decade on bus trips through the Midwest League and the International League, with a wife, Kim, and two daughters, Olivia, 9, and Evelyn, 3, at home in Dallas. He’ll almost certainly start this season at Triple-A Nashville.

Every minor-league catcher starts to hear the Crash Davis comparison in their 30s, but Carlin actually is much like the Kevin Costner character in Bull Durham. He’s determined, smart — he was a chemistry major at Northeastern, and speaks Spanish as well as English and French — and funny. Plus, you don’t get offers from different clubs every year, or the Indians every other year, if you don’t get along with people.

“He’s a good teammate, a very solid guy,” said A’s third baseman Brett Lawrie, who also is a Team Canada regular. “The guy has been bouncing around all over the place to give himself another opportunity. I’m glad to see him here.”

Minor-league free agents know that one spot to get an honest-to-goodness chance is Oakland, a team that will promote anyone who performs, regardless of pedigree or previous failed call-ups (see: Moss, Brandon).

“Guys that love the game hold out hope that opportunity can come, and when you’re experienced, whether it’s injuries or so forth, you may find yourself at the big-league level,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “If you can catch and throw, and Luke can — and he’s a switch hitter — it’s tough not to bring a guy like that into camp, with the lack of catching. Luke handles the pitchers very well and he has good dialogue with them in the bullpen, so that opportunity could be one injury away.”

The A’s are thin at the catcher spot in the upper minors. Bryan Anderson might have the inside track should one of the major-league catchers, Stephen Vogt or Josh Phegley, get hurt, but Carlin, with his wealth of experience, is probably next on the depth chart.

“Luke has been knocking on the door forever and he’s still waiting to get a real, full-time call-up,” said Carlin’s friend and college teammate Omar Peña, brother of former A’s first baseman Carlos Peña. “But he’s an experienced dude and he’s so agile as a catcher, and he’s well-liked wherever he goes — and he’ll go anywhere to play ball. He’s really smart, especially behind the plate. I can see him being a manager.”

That’s one major reason Carlin keeps soldiering on. Although he’s had some offers to coach the past few years, he wants to soak in more knowledge, work with more pitchers. He wants to manage one day.

“That’s the goal. I’d love to do that,” he said. “That’s another beautiful thing about playing still. The experience is huge. You get to learn, be a fly on the wall, ask questions.”

Why else would he still be doing this?

“Besides loving baseball?” Carlin said. “I think you grow in your struggles. I enjoy it. I enjoy pushing myself. I think we all enjoy competition — the desire to always be better.”

Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.

Revue de presse publiée par Jacques Lanciault.