The ball caroms off the wall in left field and zigzags all the way to center. Greg Dobbs sees the outfielder misplay a sure double and entertains thoughts of reaching third. He digs his left foot into the ground three-quarters of the way to second base, feels a pop in his left leg and dives toward second like someone jumping on a slip-and-slide that isn't wet yet.

He lands with a thud 10 feet from the base and crawls to second to avoid the tag. And right then, the fast track slows considerably, from hitting and running to crawling and hoping, from can't-miss to can't-play.

It was the second game of the 2003 season for the Class AA San Antonio Missions. Benny Looper, the Mariners' vice president of player development and scouting, happened to be in the stands the day Dobbs tore his left Achilles, the day he lost a year of baseball.

"It looked like someone shot him with a gun," Looper said. "I knew right away that it was pretty bad."

It has been two years now, and Dobbs is the Mariners' surprise story from spring training. He's also the fourth man on a four-man bench, the 25th man on the 25-man active roster, a backup third baseman, backup first baseman and backup outfielder.

And yet, Dobbs can't stop smiling. He says he feels "extremely fortunate." His career moved so quickly until 2003 — a year split in Everett and San Bernardino, a year split in Wisconsin and San Antonio — but Dobbs never fully appreciated his fast track until after it derailed.

"As funny as it may sound, I wouldn't change a thing," Dobbs said Wednesday. "It's humbling when you have something taken away from you like that. You take your health for granted sometimes, and you take the opportunity you have to play the game for granted sometimes.

"That year taught me that the time you have to play is precious."

So Dobbs doesn't mind that Justin Leone moved in front of him in the organization after the injury. He doesn't mind that the Mariners signed Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson to play the corners of the infield, leaving Dobbs the role of situational left-handed hitter off the bench.

He's giddy just being on the club, content with sharing the same locker space with all-stars, happy to be playing, period.

"With a lot of young players, I'm trying to teach some of the same things he already possesses," hitting coach Don Baylor said. "He has one of those swings where the guy knows he just has it. We'll just have to take that beauty into the game."

Dobbs grew up in California idolizing Will Clark and emulating Seattle icon Ken Griffey Jr. Dobbs could always hit, and he always talked incessantly about the art of hitting.

His college roommate, Twins shortstop Jason Bartlett, was in town for the Mariners' opening series. He talked about Dobbs' dual voracious appetites — the two would work out in the morning at Oklahoma, then go to one of their apartments for massive breakfasts of eggs, oatmeal, hash browns and toast. It was a process of dissecting (hitting) and digesting (food), two passions intersecting every morning.

MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES Greg Dobbs, the fourth man on the Mariners' four-man bench, tore his left Achilles playing in the minor leagues in 2003.

By then, Dobbs' swing was already in beauty school, honed for years with hitting mentor Mike Stubbins. Stay low. Stay level. Keep the head of the bat in the strike zone as long as possible. Then hit it hard. The rest takes care of itself.

Dobbs talks about hitting the way an art student breaks down paintings. Of Clark's swing, he says, "It's pleasing to the eyes. Smooth. Effortless. Productive. It just excited me every time to watch him swing."

The Mariners sound the same way when they talk about Dobbs.

"He distinguished himself as an all-around-type hitter right away," Tacoma manager Dan Rohn said. "The kid is as pure as they come."

Said Looper, "He's kept hitting from the time we got him, and he's hit at every level we've had him at."

The bigger question is where Dobbs fits in the Mariners' big picture. First base (Sexson), third base (Beltre) and right field (Ichiro) are locked up for years.

The Mariners say that Dobbs can hit .300 in the big leagues, but first he'll have to hit left-handers in late innings of close games, often facing the best relievers. And somewhere along the way, if he continues to spray line drives to all fields like the double he hit in the Mariners' second game, all that will take care of itself.

"Some players it just takes awhile to become an everyday position player," Looper said. "Look at (designated hitter) Raul Ibanez. He played some extra-guy off the bench, extra outfielder. It took him awhile before he was an everyday guy. If (Dobbs) hits enough, some manager will find a way to get him in the lineup."

Right now, Dobbs isn't terribly concerned with playing every day, which isn't to say he doesn't want to. He just can't get over making the club after manager Mike Hargrove didn't know him entering spring training.

The Mariners waited until the last moment — right up until they arrived back in Seattle from Las Vegas on Saturday — to let Dobbs know. So what did Dobbs do? He called his wife, Heidi.

Dobbs is healthy now, and the year he spent rehabilitation his Achilles gave him something more important.

Perspective.

Bartlett says he has never seen his buddy in better shape. Dobbs says he has never felt better.

"If playing every day is in my future, then so be it," Dobbs said. "At this point, it's more about just being part of this big-league roster, just stepping foot in this clubhouse. My life is great right now. Don't think that I don't know that."

Greg Bishop: 206-464-3191 or gbishop@seattletimes.com