DATE: Saturday, June 28, 1997               TAG: 9706280610

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   69 lines

HE DID MORE THAN JUST CATCH ON TODD PRATT IS ONE OF 3 TIDES PICKED FOR THE TIDES PICKED FOR THE TRIPLE-A ALL-STAR CLASSIC.

Three months ago, Todd Pratt figured he'd barely made the Norfolk Tides' roster out of spring training.

Now he finds himself on the National League roster for the upcoming Triple-A All-Star Classic, to be played July 10 in Des Moines, Iowa.

On Friday, Pratt was selected as a reserve catcher for the National League squad. Also selected were teammates Roberto Petagine and Scott McClain.

Petagine, a lefthanded cleanup hitter who was batting .298 with 18 home runs and 62 RBIs as the Tides began a three-game series in Rochester on Friday night, was named as a reserve outfielder. It's the second consecutive year in which Petagine has made it as a reserve.

McClain was named to the team as a reserve infielder. The Tides' regular third baseman is hitting .280 with 16 home runs and 44 runs batted in.

Pratt, who is hitting .309 with nine homers and 32 RBIs, didn't play last season after being released by the Seattle Mariners. But the 30-year-old beat out Pedro Grifol for the Tides' backup catcher spot coming out of spring training and since then has used a hot bat to supplant Charlie Greene as the Tides' No. 1 catcher.

``The biggest surprise about this is that I didn't start for the first month of the season,'' the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder said.

All of this after leaving professional baseball last season and spending the summer working as an instructor at Bucky Dent's baseball school in Florida.

When he was released by the Mariners, Pratt thought the Oakland A's might pick him up, but that deal fell through.

He'd split time in 1995 between the Chicago Cubs and their Triple-A affiliate in Des Moines. The Mariners signed Pratt as a minor league free agent prior to their 1996 spring training camp.

``A few teams called after that, but the money wasn't right for me to move my family in midseason,'' Pratt said. ``At Bucky Dent's, they teach kids from 5 to 18 years old. They gave me the high schoolers, and it was a really nice 8-to-3 job.''

Wife Tracy had given birth to their first child, son Quade, the previous fall, and the extra available time with family made it even easier for Pratt to take a year off from baseball.

``Other things came into perspective,'' said Pratt, who was Darren Daulton's backup on the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies National League championship team. ``The year off also helped me get in good shape and get a little hungry for the game. I'd lost a little bit of it after being in the big leagues, playing in the World Series, then being demoted back to the minors.''

As an instructor, Pratt also revisited the game's finer points from a different perspective.

``When you've been playing professionally for 12 years, you reach a point where you think you're so good you don't have to listen to what somebody's telling you,'' Pratt said. ``By teaching, I got back to some of the things I'd begun to take for granted.''

With major league baseball about to expand, Pratt views his inclusion in the Triple-A All-Star Classic as another positive check mark on his resume.

``With two expansion teams coming, that's four more major league catching jobs available,'' Pratt said. ``This can't hurt my chances.'' ILLUSTRATION: Todd Pratt, who is hitting .309 with nine homers and

32 RBIs, sat out last season.

Outfielder Roberto Petagine (.298, 18 home runs, 62 RBIs) is a

repeat selection.

Scott McClain (.280, 16 homers, 44 RBIs) was chosen as a reserve

infielder.

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