EDENTON — If there were a Brian Blasik action figure, it wouldn’t come with any complicated instructions.

You’d just plug it in. It would play any position and bat in any spot in the lineup.

The real Brian Blasik is just as simple to operate.

“He’s a gamer, you can use him anywhere at any time,” Edenton Steamers coach Dirk Kinney said of Blasik, the team’s Transformer. “He plays multiple positions, steals bags, hits with power, knows how to get on base.

“He can fill a lot of holes for us. If somebody can’t play or we need some help somewhere, you know Brian can do it.”

While Blasik was an All-Atlantic 10 pick and second team ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Mideast Region selection as a shortstop for the University of Dayton last spring, he’s primarily an outfielder with the Steamers.

Blasik has started nearly an equal number of games in left and right, but he’s also seen time at shortstop, second base, third base and designated hitter.

He’s got no problem with where or how he is used.

“I’ll go wherever they want me to go,” Blasik said. “I feel like I can play everywhere pretty soundly. If you need me in the outfield, put me there. If you need me in the infield, put me there.

“Just put me in.”

On any given night, it’s hard to predict where Blasik will show up in the batting order. He’s been the leadoff hitter in more than two dozen games, but has also batted third, fourth, fifth, sixth and even seventh.

While that might be distracting for some hitters because different slots in the batting order theoretically require different skills, Blasik delivers no matter where he is penciled in.

Through Thursday, the Coastal Plain League All-Star game selection was hitting .292, led the team in triples (3) and sacrifice flies (5), was second in total bases (73), third in doubles (9) and runs (35), had 25 RBIs and had been successful on all 14 of his stolen base attempts.

The key, he said, is not getting caught up in role-playing at the plate.

“I don’t really try to change my approach whether I’m leading off, hitting third, fourth, sixth, or whatever,” said Blasik, who batted .369 at Dayton and led the Flyers in home runs (6), triples (5) and stolen bases (23). “Even though I batted leadoff all the time at Dayton, I feel like I have good speed and decent power, so I can hit anywhere in the lineup. But I don’t try to hit home runs every time I’m up if I’m in the three hole. I just try to get hits.”

Blasik’s versatility, baseball savvy and willingness to play team ball is recognized by his teammates.

“Brian plays hard and does all the little things right,” center fielder Ryan Brenner said. “He’s a great player and a great teammate. Around the dugout and off the field, he’s a little goofy, but he’s all business on the field.”

Blazik attributes his on-field demeanor to his father, Dave, the Chief Financial Officer for Commercial Metal Fabricators in Dayton.

“My dad coached me my entire life until I went to college,” he said. “His mentality is to win at all costs and to do everything you can to help the team win. He hates selfish players. He taught me if they ask you to bunt, then bunt well. That’s the kind of stuff that is going to make you successful.”

Blasik said attending his father’s softball games helped him develop a zest for the game and a can-do attitude.

“I grew up watching him play and I just loved it,” he said. “I’d even go on road trips with him. My dad tells me he is amazed how all the other kids would go and play on the playground while their fathers were playing, but I’d be sitting in the bleachers and really watching the game. He said I’d get nervous and even cry when he made outs.

“I guess that’s probably where it all started for me. Then when I started playing baseball and realized I was pretty good at it, I just worked hard and kept going with it.”

Dave Blazik helped out there, too. Besides coaching his son, he also became part-owner of a sports facility that had batting cages.

“After he bought that place, I went there all the time, hitting and hitting and hitting,” the grateful son said.

As a youngster, Blasik dabbled in other sports, including soccer.

In high school, he was a member of the golf and basketball teams. But he knew baseball was his passion.

“Baseball is so competitive and it requires you to be mentally and physically tough,” Blasik said. “Also, you go day-to-day. If you have a bad day, there’s a game the next day where you can try to do better.

“I also like being versatile and playing different positions when I’m needed.”

While he prides himself on being a guy who can play anywhere, Blazik said when it came time to pick a place to play this summer, he couldn’t wait to return to Edenton, where he helped the Steamers reach the CPL championship series last year.

“I had a chance to play in the Northwoods League, but I had such a good experience here last year that I couldn’t wait to come back,” he said. “My host family, Hal and Carolyn Burns, are just great; there’s a great atmosphere in the town and it’s a great league.

“I couldn’t see taking a gamble on someplace else.”