Kelly Calabrese took a break from treating the aches and pains of major leaguers to jog out to the first-base line to take her place among the San Diego Padres players and staff.

``There's nothing like on opening day or during playoffs running out on the field and getting introduced,'' Calabrese said. ``I still get chills every time it happens. It's phenomenal.''

Yeah, five months after being called out on the air by Keith Hernandez, ``the girl in the dugout'' is doing OK. She's doing her part to keep the two-time NL West champions healthy enough to face the St. Louis Cardinals _ even if there's nothing she can do for their lethargic bats, which helped contribute to San Diego's 5-1 loss in Game 1 of their division series on Tuesday.

Calabrese got some unflattering attention in late April when Hernandez, an announcer for the New York Mets, spotted Calabrese in the Padres' dugout, high-fiving Mike Piazza after he'd hit a homer.

``Who is the girl in the dugout, with the long hair?'' Hernandez said. ``What's going on here? You have got to be kidding me. Only player personnel in the dugout.''

Hernandez found out later in the broadcast that Calabrese was on the Padres' training staff.

``I won't say that women belong in the kitchen, but they don't belong in the dugout,'' Hernandez said.

Not only does Calabrese indeed enjoy cooking _ ``I'm Italian, for God's sake,'' she said _ but she's deftly turned back the shock of Hernandez's sexist rant.

``I think that everything that happened definitely was positive for me,'' Calabrese said. ``The things that have come from it have been very positive as well, including a lot of fan mail that I've gotten and a lot of speaking engagements that I've done now, just to kind of bring awareness to people that with hard work, they can achieve their goals and not to be afraid to take the road less taken.''

Calabrese, who's in her third season with the Padres, is believed to be the first woman to be employed full-time in a big league club's training room.

She's a licensed massage therapist and a certified personal trainer. She first started working with big leaguers in Cleveland in 1995, and later with players from other clubs, including the Atlanta Braves. When slugger Ryan Klesko was traded from Atlanta to San Diego before the 2000 season, he brought her along as his personal trainer.

The Padres used her on a part-time basis for a few years before head trainer Todd Hutcheson hired her full-time after the 2003 season.

After Hernandez opened his mouth wide enough to lodge a pair of cleats, people had a name to attach to the woman in the dugout. Hernandez, a former MVP first baseman, was reprimanded by the Mets' TV network for ``inappropriate'' comments.

``It's brought knowledge to a lot of people that you don't have to be a man to be in professional sports,'' Calabrese said. ``If you conduct yourself in a proper way and you're good at what you do, then you can achieve anything.''

The Padres have since changed her title from massage therapist to sports therapist.

``That's one aspect of what I do and I love it, but there's so much more involved in my position than just massage therapy, and that's why we changed it to sports therapist,'' she said.

Trevor Hoffman, the Padres' 38-year-old relief ace, is one of the players who've benefited from Calabrese's work.

``She does a great job,'' said Hoffman, baseball's career saves leader with 482. ``She's an unsung hero. It's hard getting some old bodies out on the field. She does a good job getting us out there.''

When right-hander Chan Ho Park needed transfusions in early August to treat his first of two bouts with internal bleeding, Calabrese was one of the donors.

``She was the first one to ask to donate blood right away,'' Park said. ``She tried to help. That was very nice. It makes you feel very warm. It still is a little special. Every time I see her, I know I have some of her blood in my body. She's been here for much longer than I'm here, but still she cares for people.''

Calabrese has enjoyed getting e-mails and letters, including autograph requests from boys.

``I just think it's a great source that people can look at and say, 'You know what, she's one of a kind, and hopefully she won't be for so long.'''

© The Canadian Press, 2007