Father’s Day has taken on much more significance and meaning for Portland Sea Dogs first baseman Aaron Bates the last four years.

Sunday will be no exception for the 24-year-old Boston Red Sox prospect.

“I think of him every day, especially when I’m on the field,” said Bates. “I hit four homers in a game last year and I could really feel it. I had to go into the dugout before going back out after the game because I had to catch my breath. Whenever something really great like that happens, I think of him.”

Mark Bates, a former New York Press and Santa Cruz Sentinel photographer, died of a heart attack in 2004 at age 46. He never got to see his son play after he transferred from San Jose State University to North Carolina State University.

“I started playing ball again a week later and a lot of people really didn’t understand that,” said the Manhattan, N.Y., native who grew up in California. “Everyone mourns their own way, but for me, it was the way to get away from everything.

“My dad was my best friend. I grew up playing with him and he took me to practice. Me not playing was never an option.”

Mark Bates also wasn’t able to see his son get drafted by the Sox in the third round (83rd pick overall) of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, become the first Sox minor leaguer to hit four home runs in a game since 1949, and have the first four-home run game in the California League’s 66-year history.

Well, maybe not in person, but Bates is pretty sure his dad is watching.

“I think of him all the time, like during the National Anthem especially,” he said. “It’s fun when I’m out there and thinking of what he taught me. He wasn’t real result-oriented. It was more about how I was playing the game and if I was playing hard. It was more the way I played the game to him.”

Bates plays the game with respect, reverence and the awareness that he is lucky to be a pro ballplayer. It all goes back to when he was 5 and his father sneaked him into Little League.

“You’re supposed to be 7, but I was as big as all the 7-year-olds, so they didn’t ask for my birth certificate,” the 6-foot-4, 232-pound Bates recalled. “They actually found out halfway through the year, but they didn’t do anything because I was doing really well.”

Bates has been doing really well since coming to Portland Aug. 11 last year. Last season, the former Little League shortstop and pitcher led all Boston minor leaguers with 28 home runs in 125 games with Single-A Lancaster and Portland. He was also third in RBIs (101) and sixth in batting average (.306).

“The funny thing is I never considered myself a power hitter. I just hit doubles that occasionally go out,” Bates said.

Through Sunday, Bates was hitting .300 with four homers and a team-leading 42 RBIs.

“We really haven’t changed a whole lot with him. We’re working on controlling the height of his knee knock and length of his stride,” said Sea Dogs hitting coach Dave Joppie. “We’ve also focused on refining his pitch selection and getting him more focused on pitches to the bottom of the zone.”

Joppie likes Bates’ power potential, especially to right field. He is encouraged by Bates’ improved ability to handle pitches on the inner half of the plate.

“I think one of his strengths has always been his patience and selectivity at the plate. He profiles very well into the organization’s hitting philosophy,” Joppie said. “He’s not a dead pull hitter. He can drive the ball the other way and stays inside the ball very well.”

Given how much Joppie lauds Bates’ intelligence and work ethic, it’s not surprising that Bates is adding to his already solid offensive ability.

“I’m trying to turn on the ball more and I’ve done that this year more than any other,” he added. “There have been no drastic changes, but I think the biggest change is me hitting the ball to left field more.”

Change has been a constant for Bates, who was converted to catcher in high school and college, and then first base in the pros, but he still keeps his catcher’s mitt close by.

“If I’m not playing, I’ll run down to the bullpen and catch,” he said. “I go over anytime they need someone. It’s a lot of fun for me. When both catchers are in the lineup, I warm the pitchers up in the pen.”

Bates hopes he’s Portland’s unofficial emergency catcher.

“I think I’ve talked my way into the role this year,” he said, laughing. “I love catching. And the more positions you play, the more valuable you are.”

Not that Bates has to worry about his value. Baseball America ranks him Boston’s 21st best big league prospect.

“The other thing he does very well is he’s a keen student of the game,” Joppie said. “He keeps a log on opposing pitchers and their tendencies and how they pitch him.”

If Joppie sounds invested in Bates’ success, he is. But, he’s quick to point out that he is with all his players.

“Aaron and I have quite a bit in common. We both lost our fathers when we were very young,” said Joppie, who was 20 when his father died. “It’s something we’ve talked about.

“He’s a first-class individual with tremendous work ethic.”

True to his nature, Bates doesn’t look for pity over the loss of his father. Rather, he focuses on the positives.

“I was pretty fortunate to have a father like him for 20 years,” he said.

aneff@bangordailynews.net

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