As a high school senior, Michael Cuddyer took a recruiting trip to Clemson, where he was introduced to the baseball team's star slugger.

"He looked up at me and said, 'Wassup?' and walked off," Cuddyer said. "Later that night, the guy who was recruiting me took me out, and tried to introduce me again. The guy looks at me and walks away.

"I hated him. I was like, 'You've got to be kidding me -- this guy I looked up to acts like a complete jerk.' "

That guy was Matthew LeCroy, who would become Cuddyer's close friend, minor-league roommate and -- perhaps to the surprise of the nation's baseball fans -- a fellow starter in Game 2 of the division playoffs.

Cuddyer is expected to make his third consecutive start in right field in Game 3. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire is deciding between regular designated hitter David Ortiz and LeCroy as his Game 3 cleanup hitter, and LeCroy likely would be the DH in a deciding Game 5, if it comes to that.

How did they get here together, five years after that failed and contentious recruiting visit?

Soon after, the Twins picked Cuddyer and LeCroy in the first round of the 1997 draft (Cuddyer was No. 9 overall, LeCroy No. 50 as a first-round "sandwich" pick). They met again at the Metrodome after they signed.

"That time he visited Clemson, I said hello to him, but we were working out," LeCroy said. "Then later that night I saw him out and about, and he was telling all the girls and all the players how good he was, how he was a high school All-American.

"Somebody asked me, 'Did you meet Cuddyer?' I said hello and left. I didn't want to hear all that stuff about all of the home runs he hit in high school. Then we sign with the Twins in the same year."

That led to about four years of minor-league travails. In that time Cuddyer became better known for his magic tricks, and LeCroy for his homespun humor, than their baseball skills.

If that hadn't changed before this week, it has now, as Gardenhire has acknowledged the importance of their righthanded power in a short series, and their value to the franchise for the long haul.

Becoming friends

After they signed with the Twins in 1997, LeCroy and Cuddyer took batting practice in the Dome -- and a liking to one another. They killed time in the minors eating at the Waffle House and playing Putt-Putt golf with LeCroy's wife. And there was always Cuddyer's magic.

"I put a card on one side of the room, and David Ortiz would be holding a card," Cuddyer said. "I'd go through the whole spiel and make the card that was in his hand appear on the other side of the room, and the card that was on the other side of the room appear in his hand.

"That's when he went nuts and called me the devil, in Latin or something."

LeCroy said his favorite Cuddyer trick is when he makes you pick a card, then makes that card come out of his mouth. LeCroy himself was considered an entertainer in the minors. On the morning of his first day at Class A Fort Myers, the players were asked to stand up and share something about themselves.

LeCroy rose and said, "My name is Mat-thew Le-Croy, and I like chicken."

That story, along with his gentle South Carolina accent, led to the perception that LeCroy was a little goofy. That perception was strengthened when, two weeks ago in Detroit, LeCroy had a T-shirt made up in a mall.

The front of the T-shirt featured nothing but LeCroy's goateed, beefy face.

"I was with him when he got it," Cuddyer said, shaking his head. "He's something."

Goofy? Maybe. What has become certain as LeCroy has bounced between the minors and majors, between catcher and first base and DH, is that he is a softspoken teammate and driven player who lacks a natural position.

"Sometimes you have to take your lumps," LeCroy said. "Pout? I was raised in a way where I would never do that."

Said Gardenhire: "When we sent Matthew down, he fought his way back . . . and forth. He deserves to be here, but defensively he's not as good as the other guys, so it makes it hard to get him at-bats, because David has been our DH."

LeCroy went 2-for-4 in Game 2, getting two of the Twins' five hits off A's lefthander Mark Mulder. Cuddyer is 2-for-4 with two walks in the first two games, and is expected to get a third consecutive start in the playoffs today -- a remarkable streak for a player demoted to the minors Aug. 17.

Cuddyer was drafted as a shortstop, moved to third, tried at first and shifted to left. Now he's playing in right.

"There was a lot of concern about him as a third baseman, because of his errors," Gardenhire said. "He catches the ball fine, but his arm was erratic. Then you sign [third baseman] Corey Koskie to a contract here, and you have to give Cuddyer another avenue to make it.

"Right now, I wouldn't hesitate to play him in the middle of the field, because he is an athlete. Short, second, I would put him out there. I saw [former Mets manager] Davey Johnson play Kevin Mitchell at short. I might put Cuddy at short next spring just for yuks. Michael Cuddyer, power-hitting shortstop. Watch out Guzy."

That's Twins shortstop Cristian Guzman, who probably doesn't have to worry. The many current and future Twins who want to play right field or DH, though -- they have some serious competition from the magic man and the country boy.

"Michael's like a brother," LeCroy said. "I'm glad to see him doing well, and I hope we can stay up here together. I'd like to make it as a catcher, but I want to be in there every day, one way or another. I don't know when my time will be, but I'm going to keep working until I get there."