MESA, Ariz. — If Bob Melvin could do it all over again, he’d have taught himself to hit from both sides of the plate.
“Switch-hitting catcher? You don’t see too many of those,” Melvin said, agreeing it was the fastest path to the majors. Melvin, a catcher himself, made his big-league debut when he was 23 and enjoyed a 10-year playing career.
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Only, the A’s manager was talking about Jonah Heim, the 24-year-old battling with Austin Allen to back up Sean Murphy on the Opening Day roster.
Heim’s path to the show has hardly been on the fast track.