Feb 19 2007 10:19 PM
Joe DiMaggio has more than one persona?
Meanwhile...
Everything all Wright with HoJo
BY ADAM RUBIN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
PORT ST. LUCIE - David Wright still vividly recalls the message waiting for him when he turned on his cell phone after landing at LaGuardia Airport on July 21, 2004.
David Wright catches break for 2007 as rising star will be reunited with mentor Howard Johnson.
"Just go up there and break all my records," Howard Johnson had said on the recording. "Go for it. If somebody is going to do it, I want it to be you."
Two and a half years later, Wright is on his way to doing just that. Only now, he'll have the man he refers to as his "baseball father" in the dugout as a firsthand observer. HoJo, who served as hitting coach on Wright's Class-A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton teams during consecutive years in the minors, joined the major-league staff in December as first base coach. He replaces new Nationals manager Manny Acta. Wright's endorsements to Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph helped HoJo land the position.
"Some of the messages he left me after I got the job, I had to sit down. I was struck by it, how sincere he was," Johnson said. "It's nice. You work in this game to promote guys and to help them reach their max. When they appreciate that on the reverse end, it's kind of fun."
Said Wright: "I wanted to do everything I could - not only for selfish reasons. During spring training, the guys loved working with him. It wasn't just me. It was a number of players that I know who made phone calls to recommend HoJo."
The two became acquainted five years ago, during the fall instructional league at the Mets' complex here. HoJo took an instant liking to the 19-year-old Wright, even before Wright's agent and ex-Met Keith Miller - also a close friend of HoJo's - checked in on their budding relationship.
"Hey, does he remind you of anybody?" Miller asked during a call to Johnson.
"Well, he does kind of remind me of me a little bit," HoJo replied.
"He does?" Miller said with a laugh. "That's exactly right."
"You know what?" HoJo said. "I like this kid a lot."
Said Johnson: "I love the way he approaches his work and his whole attitude. He's one of those people you gravitate toward. He's very respectful. He's open. We just had a good connection."
During the next several springs, and during the '03 season Wright played with St. Lucie, the minor leaguer frequently visited HoJo's home a half-hour south of the complex. Wright would play Ping-Pong with HoJo's son Glen, watch college basketball on their television and consume steaks cooked by HoJo's wife Kim. HoJo bought a Ping-Pong table for the Florida State League team's clubhouse during that '03 season. He then set up a tournament with seedings. Wright won, and received a trophy handmade by HoJo, which included a pair of racquets and a ball glued to a base.
"I hope he still has that trophy," HoJo said. "We could put that on eBay and make a few bucks."
The two have since shifted their dinners to a nearby Benihana (!), with Wright picking up the check. But their relationship has never been stronger. When Wright - a devout Mets fan as a youth in Norfolk, Va. - grew a beard two winters ago, he referred to it as his '86 HoJo look.
Said Wright: "It's going to be a great addition having him here, because he's done what I want to do - being a consistent base stealer, hitting for power, hitting for average, winning. He played the game hard. He played the game scrappy. That's what I would hope and envision the way I would play the game. You're talking about one of the first 30-30 guys. That's what you want to do in this game - be an all-around good player."
My Breakout Moment "The first time I dove into the stands for a foul ball. That made me feel like I could go out and play the game the right way."