Carlos Gonzalez grew accustomed to 180-foot sprints over his first few days in the major leagues.

With seven doubles in eight games, the Oakland rookie looked every bit the touted prospect worth the price of trading prized pitcher Dan Haren.

“It was great,” Gonzalez said. “That was something I never expected to happen.”

But there’s a saying about rookies in baseball. They’ll show you everything they can do in the first two weeks, and they’ll show you everything they can’t do in the next two weeks.

In other words, the league adjusts. And it adjusted to Gonzalez.

“Those guys don’t miss spots,” Gonzalez said. “They’re more consistent. They know what your weaknesses are. They’ll know right away if you’re not hitting the ball well inside. They’ll know that.”

Gonzalez, still shaken from leaving the only organization he’d known, couldn’t keep up. Problems snowballed and, when the season was over, he was looking at an ugly stat line: 85 games, .242 average, four home runs, 26 RBIs, 81 strikeouts and a paltry .273 on-base percentage.

Two months after the season ended, Oakland packaged him in a deal for Rockies slugger Matt Holliday.

The second trade was easier to take.

“That first time was tough,” he said. “I thought I would make my first big league club with (Arizona). It was tough. When I got traded for Matt Holliday, I understood more about that game and why they made the move.”

He also buckled down for a fight on the roster, telling Venezuela he would be skipping the World Baseball Classic in an attempt to secure a job.

“That wasn’t easy,” he said. “There are a lot of people, all your friends, wanting you to play. But I needed to be in spring training. When you get traded for an All-Star, they expect a lot out of you.”

Still, the Rockies sent him to Triple A in one of the final rounds of cuts.

While admittedly disappointed, Gonzalez said he dedicated himself to fixing his mechanics and working out the struggles he found last year. The league caught up to him once; he wasn’t going to let it happen again.

So far it seems to be working.

He is second in professional baseball with 55 RBIs, has nine homers, seven triples and a .341 batting average. He’s still hitting those doubles, too, ranking third on the Sky Sox with 11.

His two home runs Sunday were mammoth shots.

“He’s done an outstanding job with his two-strike approach – hitting with two strikes and cutting his strikeouts down,” Sky Sox hitting coach and longtime major-league manager Rene Lachemann said. “He’s been a very improved hitter this season from the start of the spring training as far as I’m concerned.”

An astute defender with a cannon arm, Gonzalez possesses all of the tools about which baseball people rave.

The only question that remains is, how long before he gets another chance to show if those skills will translate to the major leagues?

“I’m not trying to think about it,” he said. “I’m just trying to enjoy my time. I know my opportunity is going to come. I’m just trying to relax here and do my job.”

Carlos Gonzalez, foreground right, facing, is making the most of his time with the Sky Sox. Photo by MARK REIS, THE GAZETTE