Franklin Stubbs once hit four homers in a game for the Albuquerque Dukes. Now he is the batting coach for the Isotopes, giving him a unique perspective. “I get the satisfaction of trying to help young men achieve a goal I achieved a long time ago, which was to play in the big leagues,” Stubbs says. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal.)

When Albuquerque last saw Franklin Stubbs, he was knocking baseballs into the lava rocks just beyond the Sports Stadium outfield.

He first put on an Albuquerque uniform 30 years ago, a teammate to the likes of Orel Hershiser and Sid Bream. Stubbs was a 22-year-old first baseman/outfielder and on June 2, 1983, he launched four home runs against Phoenix.

“I didn’t think anybody remembered that,” Stubbs said the other day, upon his return to Albuquerque as the Triple-A club’s new hitting coach.

So much has changed.

Back then, he was trying to claw his way to the majors. Today he is trying to point the path for others.

Back then, the uniform he wore had “Dukes” scripted on the front. Today his uniform says “Isotopes.”

(Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal.)

The Sports Stadium he once knew has been leveled and Isotopes Park has emerged on its very spot, minus the lava rocks.

“No more lava,” Stubbs noticed, as any former Albuquerque slugger would.

As much fun as he had blasting lava shots, Stubbs gains a lot of satisfaction for his work today.

“I get the satisfaction of trying to help young men achieve a goal I achieved a long time ago, which was to play in the big leagues,” Stubbs says.

Stubbs’ first major league game was April 28, 1984. He was 23 and batted fifth in the Dodgers’ lineup, tucked between Mike Marshall and Candy Maldonado. His first at-bat was a fly ball out against Andy Hawkins of the Padres.

His last big league plate appearance was Sept. 29, 1995 as a Detroit Tiger. Kevin Brown of the Orioles struck him out.

“You can always say you wanted something better, that you could’ve done something better,” says Stubbs, who hit 104 homers, had 348 RBIs and hit .232 in 945 MLB games. “But I have no regrets. I played the game hard, played the game the right way. My minor league career was very good. My big league career, could it have been better? Maybe. But all you can do is what you can do, what you’re asked to do.

“So I have no regrets about what I did. … I don’t care if you’re in the Hall of Fame, you always want better numbers. But you know what? I wouldn’t change it. I got out of my career what I got out of it, and I’m pleased with that.”

The second phase has been even more satisfying.

Now he imparts the wisdom of a man who has been through the rigors, hoping to teach his young Isotopes how to get to the majors, “give them as much information as I can, then let them go on the field and play.”

When he played in Albuquerque, Stubbs says, “I just remember it was fun. The first three games, I didn’t get a hit and people were wondering if I could play. But after that, did OK.”

In 237 games with the Dukes, Stubbs hit .275 with 54 homers and 175 RBIs. He hit 35 homers in 1985.

“We always had great teams,” Stubbs says. “We always had great prospects coming up, which made it very competitive. And the teams we played, there weren’t that many, so that made it very competitive.”

About batting in Albuquerque, he says he will tell his hitters, “the most important thing is to stay consistent as a line drive hitter. If you’re a line drive hitter for me, you can play in any ballpark.”

He will tell them: “You guys aren’t the first guys who played in Albuquerque that got to the big leagues. You won’t be the last. You’ve got to learn to hit in every ballpark.”

Stubbs and the Dukes of his era certainly hit well. And the fans responded.

“We always put on a show for them,” Stubbs says. “And they never knew what they were going to get when they came to the ballpark.”
— This article appeared on page B6 of the Albuquerque Journal