Quiet and unassuming, Colin Curtis sat in the visitor’s clubhouse last Thursday at Safeco Field.

Sandwiched between five-time All-Star catcher, Jorge Posada, and charismatic relief pitcher Joba Chamberlain, Curtis laced up his cleats.

Two of the biggest names in the game — Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter — strolled past, both greeting the 25-year-old Issaquah native.

The scene — a potentially overwhelming experience for any young player — has quickly become commonplace for Curtis since he was called up to the New York Yankees on June 21.

“All the guys have been great so far,” he said. “They’ve kind of shown me what to do and helped me out along the way.”

Curtis has played in 12 of 19 possible games for the Yankees since moving up from AAA Scranton. In 25 at-bats, the left-handed outfielder has a .200 average — five hits, three of which were doubles. Additionally, he has four RBI, two walks and has scored one run.

It’s his first two at-bats, however, that he’ll never forget.

Making a pinch-hit appearance in his Yankee debut on June 21, against Arizona’s Rodrigo Lopez, Curtis flew out to centerfield. While the result was anticlimactic, the experience was unparalleled.

“There was a lot of excitement walking up there the first time,” Curtis said. “I was trying to control the excitement. I’ve had a lot of at bats, but that was definitely different.”

It didn’t take him long to adjust to the nerves.

In his second at-bat — another pinch-hit appearance on June 22 — Curtis earned his first hit. Facing Arizona reliever Chad Qualls, he drilled a 1-1 curveball to centerfield. The ball soared over the head of Chris Young for a double, scoring runners from second and third.

“Seeing the ball drop … it was kind of like a little bit of weight lifted off,” Curtis said. “I finally got it and it was exciting.”

The thrill was shared by his parents Jed and Janet, who after receiving a call late on Father’s Day, immediately left their home in Issaquah and flew to Phoenix.

Jed said he’ll always remember watching Colin come back to the dugout after his first hit, where he received congratulations from Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

“Colin was 9 when Alex played (in Seattle),” Jed said. “If you would have told me that some day he’d be playing on the same team and that team was the Yankees, I would have just laughed. It can’t be described, there’s been a lot of pinch-me moments.”

THE START

Colin didn’t begin any differently than most young baseball players.

“He was like every other little kid,” Jed said. “He started out by playing T-ball, he was that kid.”

There was one obvious difference with Colin early on, however — he absolutely loved the game.

Every day when Jed got off from work he would come home and play catch with Colin, no matter the season.

“We did it every day — in the summer, in the fall, in the winter, in the spring,” Jed said.

Steve Sanelli, who lived in the same neighborhood as the Curtis family, helped coach Colin on an 11-12-year-old Little League All-Star team.

He said he’s not at all surprised by Colin’s success.

“As a Little Leaguer he was really, really easy to coach,” Sanelli said. “He could pretty much do anything on the baseball field. And, then he had the best attitude to go with it.”

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

An obvious talent, Colin earned a starting position on the Issaquah High baseball roster as a freshman.

In his first high school game against Bothell, he hit a home run.

But it was soon after his impressive start that he was hit with a devastating diagnosis of testicular cancer.

“He was diagnosed one day and he had surgery the next,” Jed said.

Fortunately, doctors removed all traces of cancer, eliminating the disease before it could reach the vascular system.

Within a few weeks of the surgery Colin was back on the field where he played a key role in IHS history. As a starting center fielder, he helped the baseball program to its first-ever state championship in 2000.

“He could do everything,” high school coach Rob Reese said. “More than that it’s the way he played the game. He always had a big smile on his face, he made the players around him better.”

Colin went on to earn numerous league awards in his four-year career, helping Issaquah to a third-place finish his senior season in 2003.

THE JOURNEY

Colin continued his career at Arizona State University where he played through his junior season in 2006. The Yankees selected him that year in the fourth round of the amateur draft as the 134th overall pick.

Since signing a professional contract, Colin’s spent the last three and a half years playing minor league baseball in Staten Island, N.Y., Tampa Bay, Fla., Trenton, N.J., and Scranton, Pa.

“It’s a tough life bussing around,” he said. “You’re just trying to prove yourself and keep being successful and moving up. I loved it, every moment of it was fun.”

That said, don’t think for a second he wants to return anytime soon. Every day he’s fighting to keep his roster spot with the defending MLB champions.

“This was always my goal,” Colin said. “(Baseball) is what I love to do. I figured if I could keep playing and finally do it for a living, that would be a dream come true.”