The New York Yankees released a former University of Maine center fielder in 1985, a year after he had concluded an outstanding four-year career at Maine.

The Yankees’ Class A manager at Oneonta (N.Y.) invited him to Oneonta and said if a job opened up, he’d like to sign him. He also encouraged the 23-year-old to look into playing for Ken Brett’s Utica (N.Y.) franchise, which was a co-op entry at the time.

Rick Lashua was the center fielder. The manager trying to hook him up with a job was Buck Showalter, who went on to manage the New York Yankees and is now the manager of the first-year Arizona Diamondbacks.

“He was the most knowledgeable baseball person I’ve ever been around,” said Lashua. “He was unbelievable. He also related to people so well. Everybody liked him. I’m glad he is doing well. I wish I had a chance to play for him for a while.”

After being released by the Yankees, Lashua returned to the Auburn area and figured he would soon move to Richmond, Va.

“I didn’t want to live in a cold climate and I had relatives in Richmond,” he said.

But Lashua got involved in the automobile sales business and discovered he thoroughly enjoyed it, along with the fact he received a company car. “I worked my way up the ranks,” he said.

Lashua, now 36, is the father of a 10-month-old son, Drew. He lives in Auburn and is the general sales manager at the Lee Auto Mall of Auburn. He is married to the former Carol Roy, an Old Town High School graduate.

During his 182-game career, the Danville native and former Edward Little High School football and baseball star set or tied 11 school and nine New England Division I records in helping Maine earn four trips to the College World Series.

Lashua, a career .339 hitter, saved his best for last.

He became a switch hitter his senior year and hit .369 with eight homers, 15 doubles, 36 runs batted in and 65 runs scored. He was named the ECAC New England Division I Player of the Year.

“In looking back, my biggest regret was not switch-hitting my freshman year,” said Lashua, who hit righthanded for three years. “I knew I could switch-hit but I never dared try [until his senior year].”

Lashua has fond memories of his college days.

“Most of the people I met or played with at Maine are still my best friends today,” said Lashua. “And we made baseball very popular in Maine for five, six, seven, eight years. People still comment on things we did up there.”

He said some of the best times occurred during the bus trips.

“There are two or three comedians on every team. The trips were like Ma and Pa Kettle [episodes],” said Lashua, who considered outfielders Brad Colton and Tommy Vanidestine two of the top comics.

He said those Maine teams played with a lot of confidence.

“We never felt we were out of a game,” said Lashua, who works out on the mini-gym in his house and plays some softball to keep himself in shape.

Lashua keeps in touch with ex-teammates like Billy Swift and Stu Lacognata via the Internet.

He also said although former coach John Winkin wasn’t a people person, he taught them a lot of life lessons that he still applies.

“It’s a rough world and you’ve got to carry your weight,” said Lashua.

Winkin said Lashua was a “major-league prospect with the exception of his arm. He had great instincts in center field. He keyed the top of our order.”