BINGHAMTON, NY - Going into last season, Mike Jacobs was the big catching prospect for the New York Mets. After being named 2003 Mets Minor League Player of the Year by hitting .329 with 17 homers and 81 RBI for AA Binghamton, the San Diego native moved up to AAA and was primed to make his Major League debut in late 2004.

Unfortunately, Jacobs’s season was ended on June 14 when he underwent surgery to repair his right labrum. It was a setback and put the catcher into a situation he never experienced.

"It was scary," Jacobs told NY Sports Day. "After never being hurt before, even as a little kid growing up, the first thing that enters your mind is ‘Am I going to recover from this? How long is this going to take?’"

It’s taken almost a year, but the 24 year-old left-handed hitter is now back to full strength. After being in Major League Spring Training, Jacobs took a step back and was sent back to Binghamton to split time between catcher and first base. He is learning how to play the new position and feels that this move is the best for his career.

"After talking with our coaches and front office, they reassured me that it’s not a demotion, but they want me to save me my arm and work at first," Jacobs said. "They didn’t have any at bats at first base in AAA."

With Craig Brazell, Brian Daubach and Luis Garcia splitting time at first base in AAA, Jacobs has found everyday play for the BMets and is finding the transition going smoothly. He had some experience at first, but this is the first time he played the position on a regular basis.

"I feel comfortable, since I played some first base over the last three years, since I was at St. Lucie," Jacobs said. "It’s not really a tough position to play."

Jacobs still looks at himself as a catcher and is behind the plate three or four times a week. With Doug Mientkiewicz solidifying the first base position and Mike Piazza in his last year of his contract, being a backstop is still his ticket to the Majors.

"If this was a move strictly to first base, I would probably be against it, but I am still catching," Jacobs explained. "I am still on the roster and still one step away. If someone gets hurt, I can get called up."

New Yorkers may remember Jacobs as the first backstop on the 2001 Brooklyn Cyclones and drove in the winning run in the 10th inning of the inaugural game at Keyspan Park. Jacobs said the large crowds at Coney Island "excited him" and the experience helped him later in his career.

Right now the catcher, who has a large tattoo of his name on his back, is trying to make it one borough north of Brooklyn. Beside his work at first, Jacobs is also working on his skills with the tools of ignorance. He has free reign to call games, but has to learn many of the players in the Eastern League.

"It takes some time, bit it’s not hard. We sit down before the game and look at the other team," Jacobs explained. "Sometimes [the coaches] talk to you in between innings, but I have pretty much free reign."

Besides all that work, he also needs to be the big stick in the BMets lineup.

"I need to go out and have another solid year," Jacobs added. "And just show [the organization] that I am still the same guy who tore it up here two years ago."

If he does, the Mets may have their catching heir for Piazza.

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