Does it look like him? Jordan Pacheco's baseball journey finally leads to a bobblehead night

Jordan Pacheco’s legacy at Isotopes Park keeps getting harder to top.

Already one of just a handful of players to compete at the ballpark as a high school, college and professional player, Pacheco put another checkmark on his list last season when he signed on as the Albuquerque Isotopes hitting coach.

What’s next, you ask?

Sunday, he joins another exclusive list as a focus of the Isotopes’ latest promotion: Jordan Pacheco Bobblehead Night. The first 3,000 fans arriving for Sunday’s 1:35 p.m. Albuquerque-El Paso series finale will receive the coveted figurines.

Pacheco, an Albuquerque native who played at La Cueva High and UNM before starting a 13-year pro career, smiled and shook his head when asked about the promotion.

“It was something that (Isotopes GM) John Traub brought to my attention and I said, ‘Man, I’m a hitting coach. I’d rather stay in the background.’”

But upon further review …

“On the other hand, I’ve never had a bobblehead,” Pacheco said. “It’ll be fun for my kids. Why not?”

Not only is it unusual for a hitting coach to be immortalized with his own bobblehead, it’s been rare for any player/coach/manager to be so honored at Isotopes Park, Traub said.

“It’s hard to do with minor league players because of the process,” Traub said. “It takes a while to get them ordered and made, and you never know how long a player’s going to be here. We’ve had lots of bobbleheads over the years, Orbit, Mariachis, you name it, but not many with people wearing Isotopes uniforms.”

The few exceptions include former Isotopes standout Jason Wood, longtime manager Dean Treanor and Isotope-turned-MLB star Trevor Story. It’s not a list Pacheco would have expected to join back in his days as a two-sport star for La Cueva.

Pacheco played a key role for a loaded Bears baseball program that won two state championships (2003-04) and at one point won 70 consecutive games. But at the time, baseball ranked second on his list of favorite sports.

Pacheco also scored the winning basket in La Cueva’s 55-53 victory over rival Sandia in the 2003 Class 5A championship game at the Pit.

“I tried to play basketball as long as I could,” Pacheco said. “It was my No. 1 sport. But a lot of my friends played baseball and my parents kind of pushed me in that direction. They were right. I was obviously more cut out for baseball than college basketball.”

Pacheco opted to play baseball at the University of New Mexico and excelled, earning Mountain West Player of the Year honors in 2007. He was a ninth-round pick of the Colorado Rockies later that year and went on to a lengthy professional career that included stints with three MLB clubs (Colorado, Arizona and Cincinnati).

Pacheco made his Rockies debut in 2011 and enjoyed his best overall season in 2012, hitting .309 with 54 RBIs and 51 runs scored in 132 games. He became something of a utility player throughout his major league career, playing catcher, infield and outfield at various times, but Pacheco could always hit. He finished with a career .272 average despite erratic playing time and numerous pinch-hitting appearances.

Much like professional baseball player, hitting coach was not initially a role Pacheco saw for himself. That began to change late in his playing career.

“When you enjoy the process and talk to guys about hitting every day, I think coaching started getting into my mindset,” Pacheco said. “There haven’t been many days in my 37 years that I didn’t think about swinging a baseball bat.”

Now in his second season, Pacheco’s coaching tenure is off to a good start. The Isotopes have posted strong hitting numbers and Pacheco has formed a solid working relationship with his players.

“Pacheco is really good,” Isotopes infielder Coco Montes said. “He opened my eyes about how to work a scouting report and approach different pitchers. He’s got a lot of knowledge from his playing career and it’s easy for us to gravitate to him and trust him.”

Asked if he’s hoping for another major league call-up, this time as a coach, Pacheco smiled.

“I guess it’s the same thing as when you’re a player,” he said. “If you’re a competitor, the opportunity to go up motivates you to be better and keep learning. If that day comes, I want to be as prepared as possible.”

Still, the Albuquerque native says he’s in no rush. His family has settled back into a hometown rhythm and he enjoys spending time around friends and relatives — even playing pickup basketball three times a week during the offseason.

On Sunday he plans to collect a few extra bobbleheads at the request of some of those friends and family members.

“I think they actually came out pretty good,” Pacheco said of his bobbleheads’ likeness. “Hopefully people have fun with them. I know my kids will.”