TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Manager Mike Scioscia welcomed David Eckstein to camp and jokingly asked the littlest Angel whether he'd gotten any taller in the offseason.

``I think I've shrunk,'' Eckstein said Wednesday. ``Last year they said I was 5-7, this year it's 5-6.''

Whatever his height, the hustling, boyish-looking Eckstein gained stature as a solid shortstop and leadoff hitter last year as well as becoming a fan favorite in Anaheim with the World Series champions.

A more natural second baseman, he's still determined to show skeptics he's a good shortstop despite being small for the position and not having a rifle arm.

``I guess I'm never going to put all that to rest. And nobody cares what you did last year. I just have to keep improving so those questions won't come up,'' said the 28-year-old Eckstein, whose .293 average last season tied Rick Burleson's 1981 mark for the highest batting average by an Angels shortstop appearing in 100 or more games.

Claimed off waivers from Boston on Aug. 15, 2000, Eckstein became the Angels' starting shortstop the following season. He has a combined .289 batting average for his two major league seasons and has scored 189 runs.

Eckstein hit safely in 13 of Anaheim's 16 postseason games and scored six runs during the seven-game World Series. He batted .294, scored nine runs and had six RBIs in the postseason.

Eckstein had a busy offseason, including a dinner at the White House where his mom met President Bush.

Eckstein also made the trip to Japan with a group of major league All-Stars for an exhibition series against Japanese stars.

``It was hard to go play more games,'' said Eckstein, adding it was an interesting experience playing in front of the usually noisy crowds in Japan.

``They were very respectful, would not make a sound when we went up to bat,'' he said. ``There were 40,000 or 50,000 people and it was dead quiet. It was kind of weird.''

Eckstein said one of his American teammates - San Francisco's Barry Bonds - was particularly kind to him. The Angels had beaten Bonds and the Giants in the World Series.

``He congratulated me, said a lot of nice things,'' Eckstein said. ``He paid me compliments, and hearing it from a super player, it was great. Later at an awards dinner in New York, Bonds told my mother, `You've got a great son,' that type of thing.''

Eckstein, who received the ``You Gotta Have Heart'' Award at the 2003 Baseball Writers' Association of America dinner in New York, spent much of the past two months working out at the University of Georgia, where his brother, Rick, is an assistant baseball coach.

Three of Eckstein's other siblings have required kidney transplants because of kidney ailments, and now his father, Whitey, needs one.

Eckstein said he's not a donor match for his father.

``He wouldn't take it anyway, because he wants to make sure I keep playing,'' Eckstein said.