Dick Berardino was at a meeting of the minds of Boston Red Sox minor league and major league talent evaluators five years ago.

Berardino, then the Lowell Spinners manager, nominated his diminutive second baseman, David Eckstein, as the team's MVP.

Berardino was over-ruled. Instead, the organization decided Spinners outfielder Mark Fischer would get the honor.

Mind you, Fischer had a good year -- .330 average, 5 homers, 25 RBI, 13 SBs in 48 games -- but it was not, in Berardino's mind as good as Eckstein's year.

Eckstein's average wasn't as high (.301), but in nearly every other category -- 249 AB, 43 runs, 75 hits, four triples, 39 RBI and 21 SB -- he was the team leader.

The reason?

How does politics sound?

Fischer was the first round compensation draft pick the Red Sox got when Toronto got Roger Clemens. Eckstein was selected in the 19th round.

Then-Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette wanted to soften the blow of Clemens not only leaving, but having a Cy Young Award season (21-7, 2.05 ERA).

Naming someone who is the second or third best player the MVP is a common practice in baseball. General managers want to sell to their fans that they know how to pick players. But in this case, Berardino was ticked off.

"I managed the team. I saw the guys play every day. Being the team MVP is an honor a kid can take with him," said Berardino.

The funny thing is that Berardino was not sold on Eckstein when he first came to Lowell. In fact, Berardino didn't start Eckstein the first two games he was on the team.

"He had a strange looking swing. He was a small kid," said Berardino. "I put him in the third game and he never came out of the lineup. Every day he would do something, the little things. I began to realize he was a very smart player."

By the end of the year, Berardino had high hopes for Eckstein.

"I just thought he had what it takes to make it to the major leagues," said Berardino. "Of course, you never know."

Eckstein didn't let Berardino's scouting report down, at least not for the next two seasons. He batted over .300 at both Sarasota in 1998 and in Trenton in 1999.

Eckstein, a second baseman, didn't have as much success in Triple-A Pawtucket. He was under .200 for most of the season.

But there is a story there.

A roving hitting instructor in Pawtucket had changed Eckstein's swing, moving his hands closer to his body to shorten his stroke. The instructor also wanted Eckstein to swing with weight on his back foot.

He never felt comfortable.

"They were trying to do the best for me," Eckstein told Eagle-Tribune baseball writer John Tomase in August.

"Believe me, my hitting style is not something you'd want to teach a little kid. But it's the only way I know how to hit," he said. "I hit off my front foot and drive the back leg through, sliding it along the ground. They wanted me to keep my weight balanced through my back leg, so I'm swinging like Barry Bonds. That might work for a big power hitter, but not me."

At a meeting which Berardino attended, the Red Sox minor league brass talked about needing to take a player off the 40-man roster to make room for Lou Merloni's return. Berardino objected loudly.

"The kid hit .300 for three years in the minors and now, because he's slumping a little bit, you get rid of him?" said Berardino. "I was not happy."

The Red Sox were hoping Eckstein would go unnoticed, because of his .160 batting average. But the Angels scooped him up and Eckstein was theirs.

"When I spoke with David (six weeks ago), he told me that as soon as he got to the Angels Triple-A team (in Edmonton), they asked him about some of his problems and how the Red Sox changed his swing," said Berardino. "David said they told him to go back to the way you used to hit. Next thing you know he's batting .346."

And the rest is history.

Eckstein ended up being the Angels' everyday shortstop, a position he rarely played with the Red Sox, in 2001. Currently, he has become one of the best leadoff hitters in the game. His two-year average is .289 with 25 stolen bases and 24 doubles.

"He would have been a perfect fit for the Red Sox as their second baseman, which is probably where he'll end up eventually," said Berardino. "He's a tough, tough kid. He is a manager's dream."

He is also in the record books. Eckstein has a "power statistic" that betters both Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds. Three of his eight homers this season were grand slams.

"It's not easy hearing David's name these days, especially since we had him," said Berardino.

By the way, Fischer, the 1997 Spinners MVP, was released by Trenton this summer.