MACK THE ROOKIE : One Day, He Could Be Center of Attention

SAN DIEGO —  One night this week, Shane Mack was confronted by a kid dangling upside down over the Padres’ dugout roof. He was begging for anyone’s autograph.

Mack, the newest Padre, obliged. Then he sat down and scanned the field in front of him as a smile slowly crossed his face.

“Better get used to it,” his teammates warned.

Tony Gwynn, trying to calm Mack’s nerves, told the young outfielder that the only differences between the Padres and the Las Vegas Stars, for whom Mack had been playing, were larger ballparks and bigger crowds.

“I’m trying to look at it that way,” Mack said. “Hopefully, I’ll relax more if I do.”

Mack, 23, was purchased from the Stars Monday after Steve Garvey was placed on the 21-day disabled list. Monday night, Mack was starting in right field in place of Gwynn, who injured his thumb Sunday.

For the better part of this week, Mack has been a bit too anxious at the plate, eager for his first major league hit. He has spent hours hitting off a tee to sharpen his swing. And, under the critical eye of Deacon Jones, the Padres’ hitting coach, Mack has taken hundreds of swings in the batting cage.

He struck out his first two at-bats Monday, but collected his first hit Wednesday in a 3-for-5 performance against Philadelphia.

Mack, who is searching for an apartment in San Diego, has also spent the week trying to shed the image of a big-eyed rookie. When his teammates caught him grinning after signing the kid’s program Tuesday night, Mack snapped back to a serious look and appeared self-conscious.

Even when he is in the batting cage, he is trying to act nonchalant. After he slammed a batting-practice breaking ball about 25 rows deep in the left-field seats recently, Mack slowly walked out of the cage, never looking to see where the ball landed.

Jones acted upset.

“When you hit the ball like that, show some emotion, look at it, don’t be cool,” Jones shouted.

Later, Jones said with a laugh: “I’m glad things stay the same and a rookie acts like a rookie. He will do well. He’s a workaholic and I like that. He’s a listener, he’s very strong and he has quick hands. The ball explodes off his bat.”

Padre Manager Larry Bowa has three categories for rookies:

--”The players who say I hope I can.

--”The players who say I think I can.

--”The players who say I know I can.”

Bowa says Mack is in the first group, but with a little work can quickly move into the second. By the off-season, Bowa hopes all of his rookies advance to the third stage.

“We’ve got four rookies starting, so it’s hard to hide all four,” Bowa said. “I can see ways of transforming these players.”

Bowa eventually envisions Mack hitting in the No. 3 spot. But he’s cautious not to rush him.

“I don’t want him to get buried up here,” Bowa said. “There’s going to be an adjustment period. It’s not going to happen right like that and nobody expects it to. Sure, he will make mistakes, just like (Joey) Cora and (Benito) Santiago did.”

Gwynn said he feels the competition rising. When the Padres were in New York last week, Gwynn was taking some throws at first base when General Manager Jack McKeon yelled from the dugout that Gwynn may be playing at the infield position sooner than he might think.

“Not only here, but there are also some quality players in the minors,” Gwynn said. “When you have that, nobody’s job is safe.”

Bowa said Mack may be the Padres’ starting center fielder once Gwynn is healthy. With Stan Jefferson in left, the new Padre outfield could be one of the quickest in the National League.

“It would be a pretty good defensive outfield,” Gwynn said. “We’re all not seasoned veterans, but as far as cutting off balls from the alley, that will be easy.”

No one is worried about Mack’s defensive ability, including Bowa. The big question is his hitting.

All through his professional career, he has concentrated on improving his hitting. He was the Padres’ first-round draft pick in 1984. Mack skipped his senior season at UCLA to play in Beaumont of the Texas League in 1985.

That season, he hit .260 in 125 games and improved that to .281 in 115 games during the 1986 season.

“I felt it was a really big step from college ball to Double-A,” said Mack, who played on the 1984 Olympic baseball team. “My first year was an adjustment year and I struggled.”

He joined the Stars for the last three weeks of the season last year during their Pacific Coast League title run. He hit .362 in 19 games.

Bowa, Mack’s manager in Las Vegas last year, said he was impressed with Mack’s performance for the Stars and has been keeping an eye on the young outfielder.

Mack’s hopes of making the team during spring training were dashed after he required five stitches just above his left knee after a collision at first base during the first day of practice.

“It set me back but I felt that I needed work in Triple-A ball, because I couldn’t really find a groove hitting,” Mack said. “I didn’t feel relaxed coming up to the plate in Triple-A.”

He started the season batting in the .280 range, but soon jumped to .340. When the Padres brought him up Monday, Mack was hitting .336 with 5 home runs, 26 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 39 games.

Mack said his biggest concern is adjusting to major league pitching. His first single and double Wednesday night came off fastballs.

“There are still a lot of pitchers I have to see,” he said. “I’m just going to try and make adjustments.”

Defensively, Mack “covers the outfield like the morning dew,” Jones said. Bowa said Mack has a tendency to play too shallow.

But Mack said he prefers going back on the ball.

“I’d like to see him play back a little farther, but we’ll let him play where he wants until he gets burned,” Bowa said. “My philosophy is that if a guy is doing well in the minors, don’t change a guy until he is struggling or is getting burned.”

He hasn’t been buried yet, but he nearly buried second baseman Joey Cora Monday night when the two collided while chasing a pop fly.

Wednesday, Cora found a pair of shoulder pads hanging from his locker with an unsigned note attached: “Thought you could use these.” It’s unlikely that the 6-foot, 185-pound Mack left the extra equipment for his fellow rookie. . . . Mack has too many other things on his mind.

Wednesday night, he returned to Las Vegas to gather his belongings left behind in his rush to San Diego. But it’s more than a comfortable apartment and familiar belongings that will make Mack feel at home.

That first hit did a lot to help in that department.

“It’s like a light going off in a closet,” Jones said.

And Mack agrees.

“I feel like a big-leaguer now, since I have contributed to the team,” he said after Wednesday’s game. “I just hope that I can continue.”