SAN DIEGO – It was a moment Chase Headley repeatedly imagined.

Headley always had pictured himself rounding the bases after blasting his first major league home run.

But the San Diego Padres outfielder didn’t think that moment would become a reality at a historic ball park on the second day of what he hopes will be a permanent stay in the majors.

It happened where a handful of Headley’s heroes once played – Yankee Stadium.

Headley, a former Fountain-Fort Carson High School slugger, picked up his first major league home run June 18, a day after being activated. He sent an eighth-inning shot over the right-field fence off Yankees reliever Kyle Farnsworth.

“My heart was pounding a little bit,” Headley said. “There’s so much history and so many great players, and so many world championships have come through New York. I don’t think you could have drawn it up any better.”

Few Padres prospects have arrived with more fanfare than Headley. There was heavy speculation the 6-foot-2, 230-pounder would join the club early in the season.

San Diego’s front office opted to keep Headley – a former third baseman who is in his first season playing the outfield – in the minors where he was able to cut down on his strikeouts, hit with more power and draw more walks.

With Triple-A Portland, Headley hit .305 with 13 home runs and 40 RBIs in 65 games. Last season with Double-A San Antonio, he hit .330 and had a .437 on-base percentage to earn Texas League MVP honors.

Padres general manager Kevin Towers said he didn’t want Headley to be looked upon as the team’s “savior.” Towers waited until his team began winning regularly and the team’s “environment” improved.

“It was out of my control,” Headley said. “I was in Portland and it really didn’t matter why I was there.”

There was also speculation that Headley’s arrival in San Diego was delayed so that he didn’t qualify for “Super Two” status for arbitration.

“I hope that wasn’t the case,” said Headley, who was called up by the Padres twice last year. “I tried not to worry about it too much. … My thing was to try and get better every day, and I knew if I did I would have a pretty good chance to get up here pretty quickly.”

Headley made his major league debut on June 15, 2007, at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

His first hit – a single – came against the Rockies on Oct. 1 at Coors Field during the National League wild card tiebreaker.

Padres center fielder Jody Gerut said Headley handled his delayed call-up “the right way.”

“There wasn’t a whole lot of hype to be honest with you,” said Gerut, who played alongside Headley in Portland’s outfield before being recalled in May. “Everyone was just kind of playing their game. There wasn’t any pressure on him. We had a good team. I think it probably helped in the end that everyone was doing so well. It just helped him relax.”

Headley, a switch-hitter, is starting to unwind in the big leagues.

Entering play Saturday, in 11 games with the Padres, Headley is batting .250 with two home runs and three RBIs. That includes his first home run at Petco Park – June 20 against the Detroit Tigers.

Headley started at third base in five games while filling in for Kevin Kouzmanoff, who was nursing a lower back strain.

With Kouzmanoff back in the lineup, Headley has started at left field since the team’s series opener against Minnesota on June 24.

“He’s made the adjustment and has handled it very well,” manager Bud Black said. “He’s taken on the challenge and the change has been a positive one.”

Even with Headley’s arrival, things haven’t changed much for the Padres, who have lost 10 of 11 games and sit in the NL West cellar.

But Headley’s teammates remain optimistic about his future with the team.

“I think it’s for the best,” said second baseman Edgar Gonzalez, who also played with Headley in Portland. “We’ll see how things change, but I think it’s for the better.”

San Diego is 1-9 since entering a 12-game stretch of interleague play that began with the three-game series at Yankee Stadium, where Headley also committed his first major league error.

Headley misplayed the first ball hit his way after it rolled off the left-field fence, just feet from where statues of some of baseball’s historic figures are displayed.

Some of those happen to be Headley’s childhood heroes. Framed photos of Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth among others adorned Headley’s bedroom during his days at Fountain-Fort Carson.

“I took those down when I left Colorado,” said Headley, who returns to Colorado on Monday for a three-game series against the Rockies. “Just some pictures that reminded me of what I wanted to do with my life. It’s something I woke up to every day and saw. It kind of reminded me of what I want to do.”

Make his visions a reality.

Fountain-Fort Carson product Chase Headley Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS