NEW YORK -- Melvin Mora's career has a clear dividing point, and it's readily apparent to anyone who looks at the books. The infielder's career didn't take off until he was traded from the Mets to the Orioles, and there's more than symbolism at work. Mora was stuck as a utilityman in New York, and without that deal, he may never have gotten the chance to develop.

Now, in an alternate reality, he's a two-time All-Star and solidly entrenched as Baltimore's third baseman, complete with a three-year extension that will keep him with the Orioles through his 37th birthday. Mora made his first trip back to Shea Stadium this weekend, and took the opportunity to muse about the only two teams he's ever known.

"I'm always thankful to the Mets, and I'm always thankful to [former general manager] Steve Phillips for trading me," Mora said Saturday, one day after hitting a home run in his return. "I talked to him one time, and he told me, 'That was the worst move I made.' I was joking around with him, and I said, 'No, that's the best move you made, and my wife says, 'Thank you.' I love Baltimore. My kids grew up in Baltimore, and I've had a good career in Baltimore.'

"I just had to thank him for trading me to another team, and giving me the chance to play."

To be fair to Phillips, there wasn't much in Mora's career history to suggest he'd turn into such a difference-maker. He usually hit .280 or better in the Minor Leagues, but without much power. The Mets signed him as a Minor League free agent in 1998 and flipped him to Baltimore in 2000 for shortstop Mike Bordick, who helped New York to the World Series.

"I got upset, because I had to sell everything. I had to sell my apartment. I had to sell my bed," Mora said. "It's not fun when you get traded, and especially to a team you don't know. The good thing is the one thing I remember. The manager, Bobby Valentine, told me, 'I've been watching you hitting, and you're hitting pretty good as a National Leaguer. When you go to the American League, you're going to hit even better.' "

Credit Valentine with some foresight, because that's exactly what happened. Mora had two tepid seasons with Baltimore, but he eventually adjusted to the American League and to playing every day. The Orioles kept him as a multipositional player for three years, and Mora started developing his power. Gradually, he proved he was better than anyone imagined.

"He's totally different for me," said Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo, who was the third-base coach when Mora arrived. "He came as an extra outfielder who may be a starter -- and a shortstop also. He was a lot younger and he was kind of like a supersub. Now, he's set in your lineup in the two or three-hole. That's quite a jump."

Mora became an All-Star as a rover in 2003, when he hit .315 with 15 homers. He switched to third base on a full-time basis in 2004, and responded with a .340 batting average and 27 homers. And finally, last season, he drilled another 27 homers and earned his second All-Star berth. Mora has finally arrived, but he'll never forget his humble beginnings.

"I'll never complain about the amount of positions I played, because that's how I got to the big leagues. But at some point in your career, you just want to be at one position," he said. "You have to appreciate what you've done in your career. I can't complain. I love the Mets, because that was my first team in the big leagues and they gave me my opportunity."

"He never had a chance to play on an everyday basis," Perlozzo said. "He came to us and we gave him an opportunity to play. We got him in the lineup every day and he worked hard on his hitting. He got stronger and obviously more confident. I don't think any of us thought he'd be what he is, though. He's a pretty good player."

On your left: Another young utilityman, Brandon Fahey, is just getting his feet wet. Perlozzo has become comfortable with Fahey in left field, and expects to play him there for the foreseeable future. While Jay Gibbons is on the disabled list, Fahey will start most of the time the Orioles face a right-handed pitcher.

"I'm more apt to play that lineup whenever we have that situation," Perlozzo said. "We'll look at some matchups. We'll look at making sure people stay fresh. But it is something, that up to this point, I've liked. As long as it works, we'll try it."

Perlozzo likes to use Fahey in the second spot of the lineup, but he admits it's not a conventional arrangement. The rookie hit .262 with a .303 on-base percentage in his first 26 games, but Perlozzo likes the little things he can do.

"Get a bunt down," he said. "Brian [Roberts] can steal second, and you don't have to waste Melvin getting him to third. You can use Brandon to drop a bunt down, or you can hit-and-run with him. Just little things like that. It puts an extra guy up who can run a little bit up top. Right now, it's working.

"As long as he gets his hits, it looks good. If he scuffles, it doesn't look too good."

Numbers offered without comment: So far, Fahey is batting .182 with a .250 on-base mark in the two-hole.

Bombs away: Kris Benson became the first Baltimore pitcher in a generation to hit a home run Saturday night. Before Benson's blast -- which tied the game at 2 -- the Orioles had never had a pitcher hit a home run since the advent of the designated hitter rule. The last one to do it, Roric Harrison, did it in the last game of the 1972 season.

Quotable: "When I go walking on the street, there's a lot of Mets fans who remember me. Even the taxi drivers say, 'Melvin, we miss you.' That's special to me, and people will never forget the ['99] playoffs. They'll never forget me." -- Mora, talking about the residual effects of his brief and eventful tenure in New York

Coming up: The Orioles and Mets will play a Sunday matinee series finale at 1:10 p.m. ET, a game that pits Adam Loewen against New York's Tom Glavine. Loewen is the first pitcher in Major League history to face a former Cy Young Award winner in each of his first four starts. The southpaw has also pitched against Randy Johnson and twice against Roy Halladay.