Scales out to prove to Cubs he has the staying power

MESA, Ariz. - Things were probably a little different over Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for Bobby Scales this winter.

After all, this was his first off-season as a big-league ballplayer after spending parts of 11 seasons in the minors.

So it might have gone something like this: "Pass the cranberries, and can you tell us what it was like to be a big-leaguer?"

"I got that question all the time," Scales said. "And honestly, I tried to stop talking about it, because now, it's, 'How do I get back and how do I stay?' The goal was never just to get there, in my mind. Everybody says the goal is to get there and stay and be a productive member of whatever team you're on. So that's the next step, trying to do that. I'm never going to deviate from that."

Actually, Scales said he didn't deviate much at all from his usual off-season routines.

The 32-year-old infielder out of the University of Michigan has been a substitute high schoolteacher during many of his off-seasons.

"I went home and did the same things," he said. "I guess I'm known for being a substitute teacher who plays baseball.

"I didn't do a whole lot differently. I was able to do some things financially, get a trainer for the first time in my career. I've been playing for 11 years and never had a trainer. I didn't have to have two or three jobs in years past. I just had one. It's kind of cool."

Scales is in his third straight Cubs camp as a nonroster man. In 2008, he batted .320 with 15 homers at Class AAA Iowa but didn't get the call.

That finally came last year, in May, and he spent three stints with the Cubs, batting .242 with 3 homers. Two of those homers were pinch-hit home runs, as he went 7-for-14 in that role.

Scales was taken off the 40-man roster after last season and could have gone elsewhere, but he's back.

"There were no guarantees made," he said. "It was the way I was treated and the fact that a guy like Jim (GM Hendry) took a chance on a guy like me. I've never been on a 40-man roster. I've never been a prospect.

"I wasn't just a nice guy who they gave a chance to. I had to play well and I had to handle my business. They saw that in me, and they gave me an opportunity. Fortunately, I was able to help contribute to the team last year. So I was like, 'There's no sense in me going anywhere.'"

Hendry said he looked first at Scales' performance in the minor leagues, and that the story just turned out to be a good one.

"We're not the only good people in the world," the GM said. "We try to treat people well, reward positive performance and the way the young man carried himself. It wasn't just a great story, that he put in all those years. He earned it. He earned his shot."

With a player like Scales, the questions always arise as to whether he ever considered quitting. After all, he's ridden buses to and from such places at Idaho Falls, Fort Wayne, Lake Elsinore, Mobile, Portland and Pawtucket before finally getting the call.

"Of course," he said. "There were a couple times. You think about it, but I don't think I was ever that close to doing it. I had some really good advice from several people I really trust, and I've learned to really appreciate their opinion in this game. They told me to keep playing. I was leaning more toward keeping playing.

"I just needed somebody to reaffirm that I was doing the right thing. Sometimes you need that as a human. You need a little bit of affirmation. I got it from them. I refocused myself and was able to keep going."

Now, the goal is for Scales to once again play his way onto a big-league roster. If not, he'll head to Iowa, play and maybe tell some of the kids there what it's like in the big leagues.

"The goal is to get here, stay here and be a reliable member," he said. "I know my role. I'm a piece to this puzzle. I'm not a central piece. If I were to go anywhere else, it would be the same thing. I'm not going to hit third or play third or second every day. I understand that.

"Inside my skill set, I can do my skill set well. I feel like every team needs a guy who can do what I do. Hopefully, I get an opportunity to show I'm the guy. If not, if they send me to Triple-A, I go to Triple-A. If it means waiting until somebody gets injured, traded, whatever, to get another chance, so be it."