Published: July 16, 2008 11:19 pm            

Stewart returns home over break

At this time last season, Caleb Stewart was making his way to Norwich, Conn. for the 2007 Double-A All-Star Game.

This season, he was able to head home to Ashland.

Although the former Boyd County and University of Kentucky baseball star did not make the Eastern League All-Star team this season, Stewart was glad to be coming home for a few days.

“It’s nice to be able to come home and see friends and family,” Stewart said. “It’s nice to be associated with Ashland. There’s a lot of talent that could get tapped into.”

Stewart is also in the select group of current professional ballplayers from the Ashland area, which includes Arizona Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb.

“When I tell people I’m from Ashland, they’re like, ‘isn’t that where Webb is from?’” Stewart said. “Hopefully I can get to the big leagues and Brandon and I can get more scouts to the Ashland area.”

Stewart started his fourth professional season in New Orleans as part of the New York Mets’ Triple-A affiliate. He struggled a bit, batting .221, but he said that his bat had really picked up the last 10 days in the Bayou.

“It was one of those things where they needed me more in Double-A at the time,” Stewart said. “They felt they could really use me there.”

Stewart’s fondest memory so far this season came in Triple-A.

He hit a two-run triple off of now St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Perez to win a game.

Stewart was drafted by the New York Mets in the 22nd round in 2004.

The outfielder began his career in Single-A ball until he joined Binghamton in 2007, which turned out quite successful, especially the first half of the season.

Stewart was named the Eastern League Player of the Month in May 2007, compiling a .364 batting average, six home runs and 29 RBIs in the span. He put together a 16-game hitting streak within the month and was named to the All-Star game.

“It was definitely nice, being my first year in Double-A,” Stewart said. “It’s kind of my stepping stone. You see if you can play in the big leagues.”

Stewart also learned and grew from a sub-par second half of the year.

“I had the worst second half that I could possibly imagine,” Stewart said. “That helped me as well. When you are struggling, you can’t let it domino effect. It’s all about going back to working on your routine and continuing to improve.”

The 26-year-old Stewart may be inching closer to his major league debut, putting together another nice season in Binghamton.

The right-handed slugger was batting .275 with seven home runs and 33 RBIs at the break.

The biggest difference, according to Stewart, between Double-A and Triple-A is the maturity of the players.

“There’s not a whole lot of difference,” he said. “But in Double-A, there are a lot of younger guys that are starting to learn how to pitch, but they probably have better stuff. In Triple-A, there are veteran guys that might not be as talented, but they locate pitches and use both sides of the plate better.”

Although his ultimate goal is to make it the Major League level, Stewart does not dwell on it constantly.

“You can’t really worry about what’s going on around you,” he said. “I try to take care of my own business.”

Stewart’s team has been taking care of business after a slow start. The Double-A Mets are 51-46 and in third place in the EAS Northern division.

        

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