Mets give Garth Brooks a warm welcome

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) -- They didn't tease him for being late or for wearing No. 1. They didn't say a word when he made his first error or when he struggled to bunt. <br><br>And they didn't

Saturday, February 19th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) -- They didn't tease him for being late or for wearing No. 1. They didn't say a word when he made his first error or when he struggled to bunt.

And they didn't mind the hundreds of fans clamoring to get a glimpse of -- and an autograph from -- two-time Grammy Award winner Garth Brooks. The New York Mets were a side show to Brooks on Saturday. And they seemed fine with it. At least until they made Brooks take batting practice in the same group as Mike Piazza. "It was like, 'Welcome to camp,' " Brooks said of having to follow the All-Star to the batting cage.

Brooks, 38, made his debut with the Mets on Saturday, working out just like any other non-roster invitee. His spring-training stint will last 34 days in an attempt to raise more money for his Touch 'em All Foundation, which gave $1.8 million to children's charities in 1999.

Brooks arrived in South Florida at 3 a.m. EST. Just a few hours later -- wearing a shirt, jeans, boots and his usual cowboy hat â€“ he drove his blue Chevrolet truck, with Nashville license plates, to training camp. Minutes later, Brooks emerged in a Mets uniform. He held a news conference, signed some autographs and posed for some pictures before joining the team for stretching. "I know he will be great in the locker room with the guys, and the people in Florida will find him as entertaining in a baseball uniform as he is on stage," Mets third baseman Robin Ventura said.

After a light warm up, Brooks was at third base fielding grounders. He flawlessly scooped up the first 20 or so before making his first error. The Mets shuffled Brooks -- as well as other players -- from field to field for various drills. Hundred of fans followed. "We were headed to the mall when we heard he was going to be here," said Carla Adelsperger, 30, who brought her 3-year-old daughter, Malloree, to see Brooks play. "He's a lot better than I thought."

Brooks took part in several fielding drills before getting his first crack at batting practice since last year. Brooks hit .045 (1-for-22) with the San Diego Padres during spring training a year ago. His charity campaign received contributions from 68 major leaguers on 25 teams, including money from Tony Gwynn, Al Leiter, Paul O'Neill, John Smoltz and Larry Walker.

He is looking for even bigger numbers this time around â€“ more donations as well as hits. The hits may be harder to come by. Brooks got a handful of would-be hits during batting practice. But the toughest part was trying to match Piazza, who hit a dozen long home runs in about 40 swings. "I was tired after two swings," Brooks said. "I was swinging for everything I had. But I talked to some of the camera guys, hoping they could take shots of me swinging then show Piazza's ball."

The most frustrating -- and admittedly the most embarrassing --part of Brooks' day came next during bunting practice. He whiffed on the first few from the pitching machine before getting some tips from Piazza and settling into the drill. Brooks was so tired after that, that instead of running wind sprints with the rest of the team, he stopped to sign autographs for more than an hour before finishing his day with running. "The first thing you want to be is not a distraction," said Brooks, who will stop training with the Mets after their March 23 game against Houston and prior to their season-opening trip to Japan. "If I get a base hit, this place is going to act like we just won a pennant. If I ground out, these people are going to do the same. They're sweet to me like that."

And that's why Brooks will spend many hours during spring training meeting the requests of his fans. For Brooks, playing baseball is not just for show, though. He doesn't want to embarrass major league baseball or the New York Mets. He doesn't think that happened last year with the Padres. "My goal last year was for someone to look at me and say, `Hey, if you would have put 17 years of your life into baseball like you did your music, you would have played,' " Brooks said. "I don't know if he read it or what, but on the very last day Gwynn wrote me a neat note and as I walking out he said, 'Hey, you could have done this."

Mets manager Bobby Valentine seemed to agree. "I can't wait to get him into the lineup," Valentine said. "He'll play some third base and left field. You might see him on the bases and you'll see him at the plate. I have all the confidence in the world that he'll help us win some games."

And then it's back to work for Brooks. Brooks will start writing a theme song for "Frequency," a movie about a kid who travels back to 1969 and plays a role in the Mets' winning the World Series. It might be Brooks' final contribution to the music industry before he possibly retires to spend more time with his wife and two daughters. "I'm gone from my kids too much," he said. "The oldest one is getting to an age where she is asking too many questions on how toj ustify why that is. The greatest gift my mother and father every gave me was their time. And that's something I'm failing to do formy children. They think everybody's dad goes and plays music and baseball."