By CHRIS BRANAM
Valley Press Staff Writer
LANCASTER - Joe Mathis is climbing the minor league ladder rung-by-rung.
It's a slow process. But then, after growing up in tiny Johnston, S.C., where everything seems to move a little slower, Mathis doesn't mind too much.
"Right now, I feel lucky," Mathis said. "I'm happy to have a job. I'm happy to have had the opportunity to play."
The Lancaster JetHawks are happy to have him.
Through the season's first six games, Mathis was off to the fastest start of his five-year minor league career.
Entering Wednesday night's game against San Bernardino, Mathis was performing his role as leadoff hitter to a tee, batting .357 (10-for-28) with a team-leading seven runs scored.
"Joe's going to be a good hitter," JetHawks hitting coach Dana Williams said. "He's hitting the ball hard, and that's what I really want from all these guys."
Mathis already has four extrabase hits - a triple, a double and two homers. He had four hits Sunday against Stockton and he's hit in five of six games.
"It's kind of hard for me to be consistent," he said. "If I can learn to be consistent, I can compete with anybody."
Mathis has improved at the plate every season as a Mariners' farmhand. He made the Midwest League all-star team at Wisconsin last year and batted .285 with five homers, 47 RBI and 19 stolen bases.
Not bad for a country boy from a tiny town in South Carolina. Mathis didn't even play baseball as a youngster in Johnston.
"I went to school and then I went home," he said. "I was isolated. I barely went uptown."
Mathis' childhood days weren't always filled with fond memories. His parents divorced when he was a year old, and he never bonded with his father.
"I felt like he didn't have the time to be with me," Mathis said.
At one point, Mathis was living in a house with seven other relatives.
"No one had a job," he said. "There was welfare. It wasn't all that good, but it wasn't all that bad."
Optimism is one trait that Mathis hasn't lost. The rough times he experienced growing up made him put life as a baseball player in perspective.
"I'm just a happy person," he said. "I feel no reason to be sad."
That's one reason why Mathis' mouth seems to always be moving. It's no secret that he may be the most talkative JetHawk.
"I love to talk," he said. "I love to communicate. Sometimes I find myself talking to no one in particular."
Williams said: "Joe's a real personable person. That's a sign of becoming a leader."
Mathis still lives in Johnston. He has never considered living anywhere else.
"I have no complaints with my little small town," he said. "I know everybody, everybody knows me. The fast life ain't for me."
Except in he outfield and on the basepaths.