How a spring-training battle in Yankees camp 12 years ago might offer clues into the Phillies’ center-field competition

One candidate was a left-handed hitter coming off a partial major-league season in which he didn’t hit a home run. Another was a switch-hitter with speed and a strong throwing arm who couldn’t be sent to triple A without being exposed to waivers.

Adam Haseley and Roman Quinn?

Try Brett Gardner and Melky Cabrera.

Twelve years ago this month, Gardner and Cabrera duked it out to be the New York Yankees’ center fielder. The arbiter then, as now with Haseley, Quinn, and a few others in Phillies camp, was Joe Girardi.

If Gardner vs. Cabrera wasn’t the only spring-training competition between position players during Girardi’s decade-long tenure as Yankees manager, it qualified as the most notable. The Yankees spent $423.5 million that offseason on free agents CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira. Yet they staged an open audition for the spot once occupied by Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle.

It’s a relevant topic all these years later because it offers clues into how Girardi will handle the three-way spring-training scrap between center-field hopefuls Haseley, Quinn, and utilityman Scott Kingery that’s underway this week with the start of the Phillies’ exhibition schedule.

“I use this excuse a lot at home that I took a lot of foul tips. I don’t really remember anything about the 2009 spring training,” Girardi said with a laugh Monday from Clearwater, Fla., after the Phillies played to a 4-4 draw in seven innings against the Baltimore Orioles. “I do know that Melky had a ton of huge hits late in games for us. That’s the thing that sticks out, the walk-off hits that he had.”

Don’t be fooled. Girardi’s memory is razor sharp. Cabrera had three walk-off hits before Memorial Day that year, including a one-out RBI single off Phillies closer Brad Lidge on May 23, 2009. He started 97 games in center field, not including Game 1 of the World Series against the Phillies.

But Cabrera actually lost the job in spring training.

It was a fair fight. Girardi gave Gardner 52 at-bats in 22 games; Cabrera got 53 at-bats in 21 games. Gardner batted .385 with three homers, six RBIs, five stolen bases, and a .448 on-base percentage; Cabrera batted .340 with one homer, nine RBIs, two stolen bases, and a .417 on-base percentage.

Girardi could have declared a split decision and put lefty-hitting Gardner in the lineup against right-handed pitchers and Cabrera against lefties. In choosing Gardner and relegating Cabrera to the bench, he told reporters, “It’s not our plan to be switching them around all the time. They’ve both played very well, but the guys who are going to start the season need to get regular at-bats.”

Twelve years later, Girardi’s philosophy hasn’t changed. His preference is for Haseley, Quinn or Kingery to win the job outright. (Mickey Moniak and nonroster invitees/mini-campers Travis Jankowski and Odúbel Herrera are long shots.)

“I would love to give the majority of at-bats to one guy because that means he’s being productive,” Girardi said Monday. “When you start switching all the time, that means you’re probably not getting production from either person — or in our case, it could be three or four people.”

Last year, neither Haseley nor Quinn stood out in spring training or summer camp. Quinn started 10 of the season’s first 15 games and batted .267 with a .283 on-base percentage and 11 strikeouts in 45 at-bats. Haseley missed 10 games in August with a wrist injury. Kingery started six of 10 games in center field from Aug. 15-26, and went 4-for-26 with six strikeouts.

It was exactly what Girardi doesn’t want. Everyone played a little. Nobody produced much. Phillies center fielders ranked 19th out of 30 teams in on-base percentage (.303), 26th in slugging (.333) and OPS (.637), and 29th in homers (two).

The Phillies could have prioritized a center-field upgrade in the offseason. But rather than pursuing, say, Jackie Bradley Jr., they signed shortstop Didi Gregorius to a two-year, $28 million deal, left Jean Segura at second base, and bet that one of their incumbent center fielders will rise up.

Haseley homered Sunday to lead off the exhibition opener, just as Gardner did in the first Grapefruit League game of 2009. Quinn, who is out of minor-league options, went 1-for-2 with a walk Monday against the Orioles.

Girardi wants a level playing field, which means a similar number of at-bats against major-league-caliber pitching. Thus, Haseley, Quinn, and Kingery won’t always play center field. Kingery, for instance, started at second base Sunday and went 0-for-3.

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“We want to give them at-bats, and you can’t put three guys in center field,” Girardi said. “We feel that we have a pretty good understanding of how they play center field. The big thing is that they all get starts, they all play center field, and that they get into a routine like they would during the course of the season so we can truly evaluate them.”

And just as with Gardner and Cabrera, the evaluation won’t end when spring training does. In 2009, Gardner batted .220 with a .525 OPS through April and didn’t play as much as Cabrera thereafter.

“We will make the best decision on April 1, [but] things can change,” Girardi said. “You have a chance to rewrite the script. If you are the chosen one, it’s your job to hold on to that spot. The competition doesn’t just end April 1. You’re going to have to produce.”

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