John Buck plays in baseball's version of the dead zone.

The former Taylorsville High star is the starting catcher for the Kansas City Royals and is in a vacuum of exposure and success. The Royals, playing in one of the smallest markets in Major League Baseball and frequently suffering through forgetful seasons with many more losses than wins, are not known for producing all-stars.

Buck, though, may be on his way to this year's midsummer classic as he is having a breakthrough year at the plate and behind it.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound former Warrior is not getting a ton of votes from baseball fans around the world, but he is posting some impressive numbers and may get an invitation to join the American League roster for the July 10 game.

Through Tuesday, Buck was batting .251 but was second in the major leagues in home runs by a catcher with 13.

His success this season, is coming from a positive attitude in the face of another challenging season for the team.

"I just think combined as a whole, the team is high energy with a good, positive attitude that believes we are going to go out there and win every game," Buck told MLB.com after a recent win. "We haven't had that in the past. You can't help but feed off that, and I think that is why we are playing good baseball. Everyone is playing good."

According to an early season report, Buck turned to a former MLB pitcher for advice.

"Baseball's a negative game with negative stats taught by negative people wanting positive results," Buck said Tom House told him. "I remember saying, 'Dude, that's it right there.'

"You've gotta be able to fight through that, 'cause every single one of those experiences is humbling. Baseball's just trying to beat you down but still wanting positive results."

Some of those results have come at the plate where he has had a pair of two-homer games this year and, while his average isn't as high as he'd like it, he's having perhaps his best year as a batter.

"I got to the point where I said, 'All right, just relax,"' he told MLB.com. "You're at the point of, 'Who cares? Just go out there and play and have fun."'

Buck is up against some tough competition among American League catchers for a potential spot in the All Star game.

Cleveland's Victor Martinez, Detroit's Ivan Rodriguez and New York's Jorge Posada all figure to get a lot of consideration from voters as well as Detroit manager Jim Leyland.

Still, Buck is hoping to be Kansas City's representative in the game and has another week or two to bolster his case with more offensive fireworks.

---

E-mail: jeborn@desnews.com