Doesn’T He Look Familiar? Cordova Back After Productive Cameo Last Season Indians Season Opener

Ben Cordova qualifies as a Northwest League returner.

But fans in Boise, Everett, Eugene, Salem-Keizer and Vancouver might beg to differ.

Just two NWL teams - Yakima and Portland - saw Cordova play right field for the Spokane Indians last season.

Cordova arrived in Spokane on Sept. 2, with four games left in the 1999 regular season and the Indians straining to hold off Boise for the North Division title. He had played 52 games for the Northern Division champion Gulf Coast (Fla.) Royals in rookie ball.

There were some double takes on the day Cordova took the field at Avista Stadium. His uniform number (29) was the same that outfielder Jarrett Shearin had worn before leaving the team in mid-August to return to classes at the University of North Carolina.

Cordova piled up seven runs batted in during his first two games, including five in a 16-13 win over Yakima that snapped Spokane’s four-game losing streak.

“It was probably to my advantage, because the pitchers didn’t know who I was and kept giving me straight fastballs,” Cordova said Friday after the Indians completed the second day of a five-day minicamp at Avista.

Spokane won the North Division by one game and swept Portland 3-0 for its first league championship in nine years.

Cordova played in all three playoff games, doubling and scoring in the 7-3 title-clincher at Portland.

Cordova started the 2000 season at Class A Charleston (W.Va.) with manager Joe Szekely, who was Spokane’s hitting coach in ‘99. The Alley Cats (21-47) have had a long season, and Cordova was hitting less than .200 when he was sidelined by a hamstring injury.

“Sometimes that’s how it all falls into place, and you have to deal with it,” Cordova said.

Cordova rehabilitated in Florida, then learned he would return to the Pacific Northwest.

“But I don’t feel like a returner,” Cordova said. “Nobody knows who I am. … But the fans are great here, and that’s all that matters to me.”

Cordova, 20, was selected in the third round of the 1998 amateur draft out of Marian Catholic High in San Diego. He signed a contract in ‘99.

His bio sheet in the Kansas City Royals media guide lists his residence as Ft. Myers, Fla., but Cordova actually remains a San Diegan. Fellow Californian Kyle Turner, of Antioch, is one of Cordova’s best friends.

Cordova’s heritage is Mexican and Filipino.

To date, Spokane’s roster includes just three other outfielders. One is Rich Divine of Emporia, Kan., who has yet to arrive.

Friday’s workout included 20 players, the same as Thursday’s opening-day practice. Six other players are expected before Tuesday’s home opener vs. Eugene.