Former 51s star Eric Campbell back for second stint in Las Vegas

Aviators first baseman Eric Campbell has plenty of fond memories from his first tenure in Las Vegas.

And some not-so-fond ones, too.

“That walk to the cage every day got to be pretty depressing toward the end of the season,” said Campbell, recollecting the sizzling summer days at Cashman Field. “It was 115 (degrees) on the blacktop, and we had to hit outside.”

Not anymore.

Campbell, who played portions of four seasons with the 51s and 196 games with the New York Mets, is back for another stint in Las Vegas with a new club and, of course, a new ballpark that he’s happy to call home.

The 31-year-old signed a minor-league deal with the Oakland Athletics in November and broke camp with the club for which he played from 2013-16 — albeit under Mets management and at the old, archaic stadium.

“I spent probably the better part of three seasons (at Cashman Field). You deal with what you have,” he said. “A lot of guys didn’t like it too much, but you just make the best of it.”

Campbell, now in his 11th professional season, debuted in 2008 and made the arduous climb through the minor-league ranks before landing in 2013 in Las Vegas.

He hit .314 in 120 games that season and .355 with the 51s in 2014 to earn his first big-league call-up to New York, where he concluded his first major-league season with a .263 average and three home runs in 85 games.

He returned to Las Vegas in 2015 and 2016, again batting better than .300 in both stints, but he struggled in his return to the majors, where he batted .190 in 111 games during the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

A year in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league helped Cambell find his footing, and he returned to the Triple-A level last season with the New Orleans Baby Cakes and hit .313 to earn Pacific Coast League all-star honors.

“I was excited when we signed him in the offseason,” Aviators manager Fran Riordan said. “He burns with a competitiveness, and he burns with an intensity that you can see when he goes about his business.

“I think he’s going to be a really positive influence on our younger players, because he has been to the big leagues and he has enjoyed a really nice career that hopefully includes more major-league time.”

Campbell is grateful for the chance to play in Las Vegas with the Aviators, and he marveled at Las Vegas Ballpark during the team’s media day last week. He hopes to return to the majors at some point this season. However, “the worse-case scenario, you spend the whole year. This place is awesome, too,” he said.

“I know they’re going to be doing work throughout the year, but already the place is beautiful,” added Campbell, the team’s second-oldest player. “The clubhouse, the (indoor batting) cages, the kitchen. It’s a major-league field, just at Triple-A.”

Contact rerporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.