A's Alberto Callaspo is too good to be overlooked

Alberto Callaspo is used to being just one of the crowd, maybe a little overlooked. He is one of 11 children.

Number "seven or eight," the A's infielder said with a smile.

This isn't a man who needs or wants a lot of credit. He'll happily just do his thing, and what Callaspo is doing is leading the A's in hitting with a .357 average, second in the league.

He's a consistently tough at-bat - from either side of the plate, a switch hitter with a little power and some patience. He's a nice addition for Oakland, no matter how you slice it, even though it took former first-round pick Grant Green to pry him from the Angels last year.

"He's a dangerous hitter," Seattle second baseman Robinson Cano said. "He's not a tall guy, but he's got some pop, he gets a lot of big hits. And he's got a swing where you think he's not going to swing, he's just standing there, and the next thing you know, he's hit a bullet. He adjusts really well, that's what I like about him."

Angels shortstop Erick Aybar has known Callaspo since they played together in the Dominican Summer League in 2001, and Callaspo's strong start to the season is not a surprise to him.

"Every year, Alberto gets better and better," Aybar said. "He's an outstanding player, he can play anywhere, and he plays hard. He's helping that team a lot. He's just naturally talented."

The A's primarily used Callaspo at second and third after he was acquired last year, but this season, he's mostly been a designated hitter. He's learning to play first base, to give Oakland a right-handed hitting option there, but it's a work in progress. His lack of familiarity with the position led to one of the A's errors in Wednesday's extra-innings loss to the Angels. Callaspo was replaced at first for defensive purposes late in the game, leaving the A's without his bat in a tight contest. Lack of comfort at a defensive spot isn't much fun for a Venezuelan player who grew up admiring countryman Omar Vizquel, a defensive wiz. Callaspo liked to pick Vizquel's brain last year when Vizquel coached with the Angels, but he's not sure it helped him much. "I'd just say, 'I want to do that play like the one you make barehanded,' and Omar would say, 'Well, you could probably do it - but I don't know if you could do it like me.' "

Hitting always has come easily for Callaspo, who remembers first playing baseball at the age of about 4 with his older brother Alexander. Callaspo began switch-hitting at 9, and he said he really hasn't changed his swing much at all since, and he has little trouble maintaining his swing from both sides. He doesn't study much video of pitchers - he remembers what most of them try to do with him. When he does look at video, it's of his own at-bats, good ones, as positive reinforcement.

A's hitting coach Chili Davis said that the key to Callaspo's offensive ability is that he has great hands and makes consistently good contact as a result. "He's focused and he uses the whole field, and he swings the bat well from both sides," Davis said. "He gives you a good at-bat. He's not exactly fast, but he's got some pop."

Callaspo might not be a household name, or one all that well known in the Bay Area despite his increasing success with the A's. That's sort of the A's way, though, so he's fitting right in, just as he does with his many siblings.

"He's an under-the-radar kind of guy, but he's a solid big-leaguer," Oakland catcher John Jaso said. "He's kind of been a key guy in our lineup. Just because you don't hear about him doesn't mean he's not doing a great job for us. He is."

Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: sslusser@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @susanslusser