Kerry Robinson naturally has enjoyed his first few weeks back up in the major leagues.

And he's especially looking forward to this weekend.

Robinson, a St. Louis native who spent three seasons with his hometown Cardinals, will face his ex-teammates when Kansas City hosts the Redbirds for a three-game series beginning Friday.

Robinson, a former Southeast Missouri State standout, has been the Royals' regular center fielder and leadoff batter since being called up from Class AAA Omaha in late April.

"Things are going well, and I can't wait for the series with the Cardinals," Robinson said via telephone from Cleveland, where the Royals are playing a series with the Indians before facing St. Louis. "It's going to be really fun."

For Robinson, fun is simply making it back to the "show" after he spent much of the past two years languishing in the minors despite apparently having emerged as a solid major league bench player.

Robinson, a St. Louis native, spent three productive years with the Cardinals from 2001 through 2003 before being traded to San Diego.

Despite hitting .293 in 80 games for the Padres -- his career major league average is a respectable .268 -- he spent the final half of the 2004 season in Class AAA.

Figuring he did not fit into the Padres' plans, he was granted free agency, then spent time in both the Mets' and Braves' systems last year. He put up strong Class AAA numbers without being called up.

Robinson signed in the offseason with Kansas City and was leading Class AAA Omaha with a .367 average before his promotion a little less than three weeks ago.

"I can't explain how frustrating it's been the last year and a half," said Robinson, in his 12th professional season. "It's the most frustrating part of my job, not really getting a chance [in the major leagues]."

But Robinson, a 34th-round draft choice in 1995 who did not receive anything more than a cup of coffee in the majors until 2001, is not frustrated these days, as he is receiving by far the most extended regular playing time of his big league career.

"I'm having the time of my life. I just told my wife I love going to the park, knowing I'll probably be the starting center fielder and I'll probably be leading off," said the 32-year-old Robinson. "This is always what I wanted to do my whole life at this level.

"Actually my first week up, when I had my first six starts in a row, that surpassed the longest time I'd ever started before up here. It's nice to finally get that opportunity."

Robinson is putting up solid if unspectacular numbers. He entered Wednesday's game at Cleveland with a .276 batting average (16 of 58), with two doubles, one triple, five runs batted in and eight runs scored.

"I'm doing OK. I'm holding my own," said Robinson, who is known much more for his speed than his power. "I've hit way better than my average so far, but I've been robbed a few times."

Robinson, a solid defensive player with just four career errors -- and none this year entering play Wednesday -- has even made ESPN SportsCenter's list of top 10 plays a few times with spectacular catches.

"It's fun to make some defensive plays and get on ESPN," he said.

Robinson said he's having as much fun as possible right now, mainly because he doesn't know how long it will last. His past experiences have left him wary, but he said he's working as hard as possible in order to make sure his future baseball home will always be the majors.

"I know I always have to prove myself, so I'm always going to stay on myself," he said. "I'm hoping the minors are a thing of the past, because it's such a blast playing up here."

That enjoyment figures to increase this weekend when the Cardinals visit Kansas City, even though the Royals have the worst record in baseball after they also held that dubious distinction last year.

"A lot of the same guys are still on the Cardinals from when I was there and I work out with Albert [Pujols] during the offseason. Hopefully I can get a couple of hits and go talk to him at first base," Robinson said, laughing. "My parents are coming in for the first time since I've been in Kansas City. It's going to be really exciting, and hopefully I won't put too much pressure on myself.

"They're a really good team and we're struggling, but it will be a playoff-type atmosphere. I can't wait."