Just about any baseball manager will tell his players that the key to success is hard work. Ivan DeJesus shows them.

"It rubs off on us when the manager is out in the field running at 1 o'clock in the afternoon," said Salem Avalanche first baseman Justin Humphries.

DeJesus was major-league shortstop for 15 years and has been coaching and managing since, hoping to work his way back to the majors. The past four years, DeJesus has managed in the Houston Astros organization and this year takes over a Salem Avalanche team made up almost entirely of players he's worked with before.

They've seen the 52-year-old from Santurce, Puerto Rico, pitch two groups of batting practice day after day, and even take the field from time to time during infield practice to show them how it's done.

"He's in a lot better shape than I am," admitted second-year Salem outfielder Adam Seuss, who played for DeJesus in the New York-Penn League two years ago.

As hard as he works himself, DeJesus' players said he was always willing to work harder for them.

"He's always there for you," said outfielder Ervin Alcantara, who was the MVP for DeJesus' Lexington Legends last year. "If you want to learn, you can learn a lot."

Humphries, who made the move from catcher to first base last season, got extra help from DeJesus.

"It was good to be able to work with someone who can teach me so much," Humphries said. "It was the little things, like footwork and hands and lots of repetitions, lots of ground balls."

DeJesus said he learned the value of extra work in his playing days.

"When I played, I always came back early the next day to try to correct," DeJesus said. "It's a long season, there's going to be some bumps in the road, but there's nothing that you can't correct."

DeJesus said that he has been organized all of his life, and insists that his players be organized too.

"They need to be on time, take care of themselves, take care of their equipment, take care of their nutrition and work habits, all of those things," DeJesus said. "You can't play this game disorganized."

DeJesus has taken ideas from the managers he played for, including Walter Alston, Herman Franks and Whitey Herzog, and forged his own style.

"He's pretty laid back for a manager," pitcher Matt Albers said.

"He's never going to yell, whether you're winning or losing," said Humphries.

"He's pretty steady," said Seuss.

DeJesus laughs at the idea of yelling at his players, but said he was willing to do "whatever you have to to get the message across."

Communication, he said, was the key to managing. And he said knowing his players, and how they would react to something like yelling, helps.

"You have to build good relationships with the players," DeJesus said. "We have to teach them how to win, how to be winners, how to be a big-league player."

Being a big-league player, DeJesus said, is worth all the hard work required.

"I remember my first hit, when I hit for the cycle, playing in the World Series," DeJesus said. "I played with some Hall of Fame players, Joe Morgan, Pete Rose - he's not in the Hall but he should be - and Mike Schmidt and Tony Perez. ...

"Every moment in the big leagues is good, the good ones and the bad ones. All of the sacrifice you make, it pays off when you get to the big leagues."

Ivan DeJesus

Salem Avalanche manager

Born: Jan. 9, 1953 in Santurce, Puerto Rico

Playing days: Major-league shortstop from 1974 through 1988, with the Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies, Cardinals, Yankees, Giants and Tigers. A career .254 hitter, DeJesus played in the 1983 and 1985 World Series. He hit for the cycle on April 22, 1980, and was responsible for bringing Ryne Sandberg to the Cubs. The Phillies tossed Sandberg in with Larry Bowa to get DeJesus from the Cubs in 1981.

Managing/Year/Team Record/Finish 1990 Kissimmee 38-25 1st 1991 Kissimmee 29-31 3rd 1992 San Bernardino 52-84 5th 2001 Pittsfield 45-30 3rd 2002 Tri-City 27-48 4th 2003 Tri-City 42-32 2nd 2004 Lexington 68-71 2nd