METS REWARD PATIENCE OF SE ALUM

From Ste. Genevieve to the Big Apple, with many stops in between.

That's the road former Southeast Missouri State University baseball player Steve Bieser traveled to finally reach the major leagues.

Bieser, 29, is in his first season with the New York Mets after spending the previous eight years kicking around the minor leagues without ever being called up to the big show.

Now that he's finally made it, he says the major leagues is everything he thought it would be -- and then some.

"It's pretty exciting. It's real exciting," said Bieser during a recent telephone interview from New York. "Opening day, in San Diego, they introduced both teams. When I came out on the field and my name was announced, it was a big thrill. It sends chills down your spine."

That Bieser has even made it this far might surprise a lot of people who followed his career during its earlier stages, because he has certainly never been what you'd call a can't-miss prospect.

A Ste. Genevieve native, Bieser spent two years at Mineral Area College in Park Hills before playing the 1988 and 1989 seasons at Southeast.

Bieser put up solid if not spectacular numbers in Cape Girardeau while primarily playing the outfield for coach Palmer Muench. On Southeast's single-season records chart, he ranks first in walks with 39; fourth in runs scored with 51; is tied for third in triples with five; and is tied for ninth in stolen bases with 15.

On the Southeast career record list, Bieser is tied for fifth in stolen bases with 26 and is tied for eighth in triples with six.

Still, scouts weren't exactly breaking down the doors to get to the 5-foot-10 Bieser, who now weighs 185 pounds after playing at about 165 pounds during his Southeast career. He was drafted in the 32nd round by the Phillies and began his minor-league career in the summer of 1989. It was a long, hard road.

"It was very tough," he said. "That's probably one of the things I'm most proud of, that I was able to endure all the No. 1 picks, the high draft choices that were getting all the opportunities because of the money. Coming out of the 32nd round, not a lot of people make it from there."

Bieser did well enough in the minors that he advanced to the Triple A level in only his fourth season as a professional. But, despite spending 4 1/2 seasons in Triple A, he never got the call to the big show.

After spending the first seven seasons of his minor-league career with the Philadelphia organization, Bieser played for Montreal's Triple A team in Ottawa last year. He batted .322, which was fifth in the league, and he was fourth in the league in stolen bases. Yet the call never came.

"It was disappointing last year because I felt like I should have been called up," he said.

As a six-year minor league free agent, Bieser had the choice to sign this year with any organization he desired. He chose the Mets.

"They showed a lot of interest and I figured that would be my best opportunity to make the club," he said.

Bieser was right. He showed the Mets enough -- particularly with his versatility and speed -- during spring training that he made the team as a utility outfielder and catcher.

"I think my versatility was the main thing," he said. "If I would have come into camp being one-dimensional, only being able to play the outfield or only being able to catch, there probably wouldn't have been any spots open. The utility type roles are the ones that are open for the last few spots.

"My speed was another thing the Mets liked. They felt like I could come off the bench and steal bases in key situations."

Bieser certainly hasn't disappointed the Mets so far because he's performed extremely well in the opportunities he's had to come off the bench and he even made his first two starts (in center field) earlier this week. Through Wednesday's action, he had eight hits in 20 at-bats -- a .400 average -- along with six walks and seven runs scored.

Bieser's first major league hit came against the Cubs.

"That was a big burden off my shoulders," he said. "I knew I could compete at that level, but it took me five at-bats to get the first hit. After that I could relax."

Of living in New York, a laughing Bieser said, "It's okay. That's all I can say about it. It's different, coming from a small town. It's kind of tough to get used to the traffic, when you want to go 10 miles down the road and you have to plan hours ahead."

On the up side, Bieser is making more money than he probably ever dreamed imaginable, although he's not making much compared to most major leaguers.

"It's no secret. It comes out in USA Today. The minimum is $150,000. It's a definite raise from Triple A, that's for sure," he said.

As might be imagined since he grew up a little more than an hour from St. Louis, Bieser was always a big Cardinals fan. The Mets took two out of three games from the Cardinals last weekend in New York and tonight they start a three-game series with the Redbirds in St. Louis.

"I followed them," he said. "There's not many names left from when I was following them, but Willie (McGee) is still there. I played against a lot of the guys in the minor leagues."

Bieser figures to receive quite a few cheers when he steps on to the Busch Stadium field tonight.

"I'm sure I'll have a ton of family and friends there," he said.