SEATTLE -- He's small, but he plays big.

He's the little engine that could.

He's a little potato, but he's hard to peel.

David Eckstein has heard all the short-guy jokes, weathered the hardships and earned his big-league keep.

The former Boston Red Sox castoff cast aside any doubt that he's a legitimate big-leaguer by hooking on as the Angels' shortstop and leadoff man and batting .285 as a rookie in 2001.

This year, Eckstein has taken it up another notch in Anaheim's breakout season of 2002, and everyone has taken notice.

Today's American League features the Fab Five of shortstops, the quintet that experts agree constitutes the greatest athletic talent to ever man the No. 6 position.

The Texas Rangers' $250-million man, Alex Rodriguez, is hitting .304 with a Major League-best 56 home runs and 139 RBIs this year.

Oakland's Miguel Tejada is batting .303 with 31 homers and 124 RBIs and helped carry the A's through a recent AL-record 20-game winning streak.

Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees has more jewelry than Mr. T -- he's won four World Series rings in his first six years in the big leagues.

Boston's Nomar Garciaparra is in the top 10 in the AL in batting average, RBIs, hits, total bases, doubles and extra-base hits.

The Cleveland Indians' shortstop, Omar Vizquel, is considered the best fielder at his position in the Majors.

Eckstein doesn't have close to the all-around ability that any of these stars possess, but he's sparked the Angels to their best record in franchise history this year.

He's batting .301 with eight homers, 63 RBIs, 106 runs scored, 22 doubles, six triples, 21 stolen bases and fewer strikeouts (42) than walks (44).

According to Angels manager Mike Scioscia, Eckstein should be considered in the voting for the AL's Most Valuable Player.

"If you don't have 'Eck' in the top 10," Scioscia says, "I think you're looking in the wrong league."

Scioscia's not getting any arguments from the Fab Five.

"He's my favorite player in the league, as far as what he does with his talents," Rodriguez says. "He's an overachiever. He does a great job for that team by maximizing every ounce of his ability. He gets his team going."

Jeter agrees. "He's a pest," Jeter says. "He's a tough out, he plays hard, and he's always running everything out. He's been their sparkplug, getting on and scoring runs, playing good defense. He's irritating when you play against them."

Eckstein takes that as a major compliment.

"That's good for him to say that," Eckstein says. "Because that's my job -- to do things to disrupt the other team. It might be just having a 12-pitch at-bat when I make an out."

Jeter will most likely get to admire Eckstein again soon, because the Angels and Yankees appear set to collide in the AL Division Series. Jeter says Eckstein's game makes him more than ready for the challenge.

"You get in the playoffs, that's when people start focusing on how you win and lose games as opposed to who is putting up big numbers," Jeter says. "That's when guys like him stick out -- the guys that do the little things to help a team win."

Garciaparra, who knew Eckstein in his Triple-A days at Pawtucket when Eckstein was hoping to become Boston's second baseman, says he knew all along that Eckstein's ethic would lead him to success.

"I remember him in Spring Training going out there, and he always played hard," Garciaparra says. "It's what you see now. He does the little things, and he really works at everything. We'd work together. I'd talk to him. We discussed little things. He worked extremely hard and always played hard."

Hard enough to get huge props from Tejada.

The man they call "Miggy" might get the AL MVP award this year, but he doesn't underestimate Eckstein's value to the Angels.

"He's a guy nobody mentions in the group of the best shortstops in the league, but he is one of the best," Tejada says. "He can do it all. Steal bases, hit, run, field, and he hits grand slams like nobody does."

Amazingly, Tejada is correct on his last point. Eckstein has three grand slams this year, the most in the Majors.

He also leads the Majors in another category: Eckstein has been hit by a pitch 27 times.

"He makes the game different when he goes to the plate," Tejada says. "He gets hits, he runs the bases hard. He's one of the best leadoff men in the Major Leagues right now, for me."

For Vizquel, too.

Vizquel, whom Eckstein calls "by far the best defensive shortstop in the game, maybe ever," cracks a huge smile when talking about Eck.

"He really surprised me in the way he approaches the game," Vizquel says. "He hustles all the time. He's fast. He makes all the plays at shortstop. He's got a very interesting way of throwing the ball. It kind of looks like he's pitching. But he doesn't have any problems hitting. He'll get better."

Eckstein hears all this lofty praise and deflects it.

"There's no way I could do what A-Rod, Nomar or Tejada do," he says. "They put up unbelievable offensive numbers -- power numbers. That's not my game. If I tried to do that, I wouldn't be up here. I mean, shoot, since I've been living, it's the greatest group of shortstops ever."

So what does Eckstein need to do to improve?

"I need to be more consistent," he says. "[To] cut down on the errors and play a more solid defensive game. I'm never going to be a home run guy, but I can improve my run production and my RBIs."

Despite the fact that he's got a great chance to hit above .300 this year, Eckstein says batting average is not his priority.

"My main thing is on-base percentage," he says. "Everything is so focused on winning that, until my uncle told me what I was hitting, I didn't even know.

"I told him never to tell me again."