Jacobs feels at home with 51s

A trade brought Mike Jacobs to Las Vegas in late July, and although he's from San Diego, he already feels at home here.

For the first time in about two months, Jacobs has seen his wife, Vanessa, and twin 3-year-old daughters, Havana and Isabella.

"I've got a great family waiting for me at home," the 51s first baseman said. "It's nice to see them and be around them."

Jacobs was playing for Triple-A Buffalo when the New York Mets sent him to the Toronto Blue Jays organization. The deal brought him closer to his family and gave him renewed hope of reaching the major leagues again.

The timing of the move has been ideal for Jacobs and the 51s, who needed a big bat after losing their top power hitters, J.P. Arencibia and Brett Wallace. Arencibia was promoted to Toronto, and Wallace was traded to the Houston Astros.

Jacobs stepped in the void. In nine games for Las Vegas, he's batting .412 with one home run and 11 RBIs.

"Those are big holes to fill. He has come in and solidified us a little bit," 51s manager Dan Rohn said. "He's a consummate professional. He goes about his business the right way. He shows some veteran leadership."

That's because Jacobs, 29, has been to the majors and excelled there. He hit 32 homers for the Florida Marlins in 2008 and spent last season in Kansas City, where he batted .228 with 19 homers.

The Mets signed him to a minor league deal in the offseason, and he opened this season with New York. After seven games, a .208 batting average and one homer in 24 at-bats, he was sent to Buffalo.

"Going into this season, it was tough to find a job," he said. "I'm excited to be here. It's another opportunity to try to get back to the big leagues with somebody. When you're down here in Triple A, you're grinding it out to get called back up.

"I've been traded a few times now. You're going into a new clubhouse where you don't know anybody and you hope you're kind of accepted right away, and these guys have done a good job of making me feel real comfortable here. This situation has worked out so far."

The timing is right because his wife is expecting their third daughter in about two weeks, and his family is a five-hour drive away in San Diego.

"It's a handful with the two girls as it is now, but we're looking forward to having another one," Jacobs said.

Before his family was a priority, Jacobs said he "would come home and be upset" after a hitless game. He had one of those games Saturday, going 0-for-4 in Las Vegas' 6-3 victory over the Memphis Redbirds at Cashman Field.

"I don't think we ever really take this game for granted. I'm sure at times we do," he said. "But when I get to come home and I've got these two little girls that are looking at me, smiling and just happy to see me, it makes a lot of stuff go away.

"It really puts your life more in perspective as far as there are some bigger things out there than just what we do as baseball players."

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.