Bates's day a stroke of good fortune
He ducked into the bathroom behind the dugout to catch his breath.
It wasn't just because of the four home runs he had just hit, a historic feat for anyone, let alone a Red Sox minor leaguer (the last time that happened in a game was 1949). It was also to remember the man who had made it all possible, a man who worked three jobs to give his son and best friend a shot at making the major leagues. A man who died of a heart attack at 46 before he could see the fruits of his hardship, his son's selection in the third round of the 2006 draft, and the first four-homer game in the 66-year history of the California League.
"After the game it was kind of a surreal feeling," Aaron Bates, first baseman for the Single A Lancaster JetHawks, said by telephone this week. "You're playing a game you put everything you have into. I wanted to win that game because of what had happened the night before [a 30-0 loss]. After the game, I was emotionally exhausted.
"That's one of the reasons it was so emotional. I thought about him. There's no question about it, I was thinking about him right after the game. I think he was watching, anyway."
Just a day after that 30-0 beating to Lake Elsinore, Bates hit home runs in three consecutive at-bats, singled in his fourth at-bat, then put Lancaster in the lead with his final homer, an eighth-inning shot on a 2-and-2 pitch in a game in which the JetHawks trailed by nine runs but won, 14-12.
Though Bates said the Red Sox organization has never emphasized power to him, he is among a group in the lower minors thought to possess the best slugging potential. Many of the positional players drafted early in recent years have been contact hitters, leaving the power production to players like Bates, said director of player development Mike Hazen.
And, for that, Bates is in the right place.
"Much in the same way we discount the pitching numbers to a degree, we take into account that there's been runs scored that might not be scored [in another league]," said Hazen of the hitter-happy California League, which the Sox joined this season after moving their affiliate in Wilmington (N.C.). "We need to do the same thing with the offensive numbers.
"We're still trying to figure out the best way to evaluate these guys, where to put their numbers into context. One of the best indicators are when some of these guys push to Double A."
Bates, drafted out of North Carolina State, has already drawn praise for his plate discipline and consistency. The coaching staff has worked on his leg lift, changing it to a more regulated stepping motion to generate a better hitting stroke, according to Hazen.
"We have some pretty high expectations," Hazen said. "He has good power. He has a good strike zone. He's starting to put together some consistency."
That, and one pretty impressive game.
"[My teammates] were just kind of laughing about it," said Bates, who finished with five hits and six RBIs. "They were like, 'This is unreal. Are you kidding me?' It was pretty intense in the moment.
"It was just good for everybody, the night in itself. It took some pressure off the whole team because no one was talking about that night before."
The joy was short-lived with Lancaster dropping the third game of the series, 21-6, but the JetHawks are in first place in the South Division at 26-21 and Bates (.305, 13 HRs, 40 RBIs) and outfielder Bubba Bell (.370, 13, 50) are among the league's leading hitters.
Two home runs last season at Single A Greenville marked Bates's previous high for a game, including high school and college. That means his father, Mark, never got to see that, either. So, with that in mind, Bates gathered himself in the bathroom. Then he walked out, back to the field, to sign autographs.
Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com. 
