NEW YORK -- Your name is David Eckstein. You are 26 months away from being released by the Boston Red Sox's triple-A affiliate at Pawtucket.

You stand 5-foot-6 3/4 and weigh 165 pounds soaking wet, both coming out of the shower or in your Anaheim Angels uniform because of the way you hustle non-stop.

You are going to step into the batter's box at 8:17 tonight at Yankee Stadium in the borough called the Bronx, in a city called New York, leading off against the New York Yankees, as the American League division series opens.

When you look at the mound you will see future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, at 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds. His right thigh is as big as your chest. Some nights Clemens strikes out 18. Some nights he throws bats. Some nights he breathes fire.

Yet, you will be standing on top of the plate.

If you asked hitters on every post-season roster their dream first post-season at-bat, 99% would answer: Home run.

"I'd like a 15-pitch at-bat, foul a ton of pitches off, and build up his pitch count," Eckstein said, sitting in the Yankees dugout after the Angels' workout yesterday.

And then ...?

"I'd like to get on, I don't care how," Eckstein said.

It has been said so many times that it's bordering on a cliche, but Eckstein plays every game like it is his last game, or his final day on earth.

Baseball has warts, and if you are disillusioned, watch Eckstein run the bases, field the ball or stand in the on-deck circle. He's a whirling dervish looking as if he might lift off, helicopter-style, as he swings the bat in quick circles.

Where does he get this desire, his brother Rick -- the hitting coach at the University of Georgia -- is asked?

"From our parents," Rick said.

The two brothers, a year and 10 months apart, have two sisters and a brother. The family spends time together, in doctors' waiting rooms.

Sister Susan's kidneys stopped functioning. So mother Patricia donated one of hers. Sister Chistine and brother Ken, both lost theirs. They eventually found donors.

"Our family is a bit of a genetic freak," Rick said. "Our doctor doesn't understand it. David and I haven't had any kidney problems."

The Ecksteins could have staged a pity party for their health problems. They chose not to.

"My mother and father decided we couldn't be, 'Oh woe is me,' " Rick said. "It was, 'How do we overcome this?' "

Christine recently bought a van for her growing family. What happened to her old car, the 1998 Nissan Maxima? David now drives it. We don't know of any major leaguers driving a 1998 Nissan Maxima, much less one formerly owned by his sister.

While Garret Anderson hit .306, with 29 homers and drove in 123 RBIs, we know some writers voting for the AL most valuable player will rank Eckstein as this year's top Angel.

The Angels are considered star-crossed. They have not been to the post-season since 1986.

In that post-season, Bobby Grich, thrown out at third, slammed his helmet down at the feet of third base coach Moose Stubing, showing up his coach. Boston Red Sox outfielder Dave Henderson hit a game-winning homer off Donnie Moore to win Game 5, with the Angels an out away from advancing to the World Series and a teenager named Shawn Green about to jump on the field to celebrate.

It is forgotten that the Angels were down 3-0 in the bottom of the ninth in Game 4 against Red Sox closer Calvin Schiraldi and won.

The 2002 Angels started off 6-14. A few days later, they played the Blue Jays. Eckstein hit two grand-slam, game-winning homers. The Angels were on their way.

"David is the absolute catalyst of our club," manager Mike Scioscia said yesterday. "He does things differently than (Yankees second baseman) Alfonso Soriano. They're both productive. He's scored a lot of runs for us and he's knocked in a lot of big runs."

Eckstein scored 107 runs, 11th in the league, and knocked in 63 runs. He was a natural second baseman before Angels coach Alfredo Griffin suggested in 2001 a switch to short.

"Alfredo has been my main source of information," Eckstein said.

You are David Eckstein. You are a sawed-off runt and you have proven once again that baseball is an equal opportunity employer.