Slipping after a magic start, Mayberry looks to return

ALLENTOWN - A year ago, John Mayberry got the ultimate news for a minor-league baseball player: "Son, you're going to the show."

And what a show he put on May 23, 2009, at Yankee Stadium. The Phillies outfielder went 2 for 3 with three RBIs. His first major-league hit was a three-run home run off lefthander Andy Pettitte, a possible future Hall of Famer. Two innings later, he doubled off Pettitte. The son of a former major-leaguer by the same name made it look so easy that afternoon in front of a national television audience.

Mayberry, 26, discovered the game wasn't easy at all. Highlights and opportunities were few and far between for Mayberry after that magical first day in the big leagues. He went back and forth from the Phillies and triple-A Lehigh Valley three times and his rookie numbers were unimpressive: .211 with three doubles, four home runs and eight RBIs in 57 at-bats. He struck out 23 times and had just four hits in his final 32 at-bats with the Phillies.

Now back at Lehigh Valley, Mayberry has nothing but fond memories of his first big-league experience, regardless of how fractured and unsuccessful it might have been.

"The whole big-league experience was a blast," Mayberry said before playing for the Iron Pigs Friday night at Coca-Cola Park. "To me, I looked at it as an opportunity to learn from those guys. I've tried to apply the things that I learned from (Raul) Ibanez, (Chase) Utley and (Jayson) Werth."

By watching Ibanez and Utley, Mayberry learned about intense pre-game preparation. Perhaps the best lesson to be learned from Werth is patience.

"When you look at a guy like Werth, it's encouraging that you don't always have to be a spectacular splash your first time up to the big leagues," Mayberry said. "I'm sure he had a great deal of mental toughness to deal with the failures and he continued to believe in himself. One day it finally clicked."

Werth said he understood exactly how difficult it was for Mayberry to play sparingly at the major-league level.

"It's really hard," he said. "It's unspeakably difficult. The biggest part for John and anybody else is just getting that opportunity. When you get them, you have to take advantage."

Mayberry, the 19th overall pick by the Texas Rangers in the 2005 draft, is learning about patience at Lehigh Valley. Domonic Brown, not Mayberry, is the Phillies' prized outfield prospect. That Mayberry could replace Werth if the Phillies' star rightfielder does not re-sign with the team after this season is rarely talked about. Mayberry says he doesn't worry about his prospect status or his future.

"I consider myself the same thing I've always been, which is a guy trying to be a successful big-league ballplayer," he said.

Greg Gross, the hitting instructor at Lehigh Valley, still considers Mayberry a prospect whose future role has yet to be determined.

"Is he an everyday player? I don't know," Gross said. "Is he a platoon player? It's going to be one of those two, but it's going to be dictated by how he does."

Gross says he has noticed significant improvement from last year to this year for Mayberry, who is batting .281 with six home runs and 26 RBIs.

"I've seen a lot less chase of the breaking ball where it's out of the strike zone and he either gets himself out or in a hole," Gross said.

With Lehigh Valley last season, Mayberry struck out once every 3.8 at-bats. This season, it's once every 4.9 at-bats.

"Because of salaries, everybody is looking for that guy who is going to cost them less money," Gross said. "If you can get a guy who can cost you less money and produce runs, now you really have something."

Maybe Mayberry can still be that guy for the Phillies.