David Story...

Back in February, when position players were not due to arrive for eight days, but David Wright had already been there for three or four, the Mets' third baseman looked up to greet a handful of reporters who had just arrived.

He rose from his stool in the nearly empty minor-league clubhouse early-reporting players first use and extended his hand to each.

"Welcome," he said.

With that, the Mets' ambassador and budding leader had officially opened another baseball season to public consumption, which means so many things for a 24-year-old star in New York.

From his first day in camp, Wright showed how comfortable he is in his role as unofficial Mets spokesman and how little he needs from others around him — even if he believes in the team concept above all.

He handles his surroundings with a mix of gee-whiz goodness and a budding sense of New York savvy that leaves him with an appealing appearance of both vulnerability and control.

One minute he is a goofy kid giggling about his favorite movie, "Happy Gilmore," the next a reflective soul speaking of his respect for the game and his obligation to be a role model.

He'll ask you about computers because he can admit his lack of knowledge and occasionally joke with reporters with the same carefree nature he does with teammates.

But challenge his ability or his team and he will confidently and firmly offer a pointed response — as Wright did for the Phillies' Jimmy Rollins by saying the Mets were defending National League East champs and would "act like it."

There are so many things that can come at Wright so fast now as he begins another season, one in which he wants to feed the craving that came last October by finishing the job and winning a World Series.

So we decided to throw some words and phrases at him to get his first reaction in a "word association" game that included follow-up questions.

We covered everything from his whirlwind year, including an appearance on "Late Show With David Letterman," a video game cover shoot and a visit to the White House to the already forming whispers that he let some of the attention go to his head. He respectfully denied that contention. (It should be noted Wright apologized when another task ran long and made him late for an interview appointment. He then offered to talk longer if needed.)

He also pointed out that concerns over his "poor second half" were not backed by any statistic other than a decline in home runs in "less at-bats," he said.

He also shared his thoughts on "my boy" Jose Reyes and his interaction with Derek Jeter — whom he said he can always count on for advice — as well as the surely disappointing news for many of his female fans that the only ring he'll want any time soon is one for a World Series title.

By the time we were done with a 40-minute conversation, I asked Wright if we'd missed anything.

He thought for a second, then grinned.

"Nope, pretty much covered it all," he said.

So here's Wright on everything from handling fame and New York City nightlife to such simple tasks as "¦

Bowling (as suggested by Wright's good buddy and bowling partner Dave Racaniello, the Mets' bullpen catcher) — "Awful. Terrible."

But Racaniello said you thought you were good "¦

"(Grins) Yeah, I think I'm pretty good. The most important thing is I can beat him, which is very important."

The White House — "Biggest off-field perk that I've ever experienced. The best part was sitting next to the first lady and across from the president and talking about baseball over dinner."

Jose Reyes — "Dynamic. (Grins) He's my boy."

He said you pick on each other all the time.

"(Laughs) Yeah. I think we act very immature sometimes when we're together, but it's a good thing. We keep the clubhouse loose. I'd be bored without him here. He's the guy I can laugh with and act like I'm 24, which I am."

You know, I asked Jose the other day a question from a reader about whether he felt slighted that he signed for less money than you did and he said, "I got no problems with that, man. He got his, I got mine."

(Smiles) "Yeah, and he truly believes it. Plus, you look at it and he'll become a free agent one year earlier. Trust me, he's gonna make a lot of money."

Billy Wagner — "Just overpowering. Just the one word. When he's on, he can make people look like fools out there."

David Letterman — "It was a blast. Just being a fan of the show "¦ it was like coming full circle. (Smiles) You have to catch yourself. You're sitting on the chair being interviewed by David Letterman. That's when you know you're headed in the right direction."

Home-run derby — "Great experience. Biggest kick I got out of it was, I had Paul Lo Duca throwing to me, Jose Reyes dancing around and Tom Glavine telling me not to embarrass myself."

National League East champs — "I want to make it a habit. But after dethroning the Braves after 14 years, (clinching) was one of the greatest experiences I've had on a baseball field."

Game 7 — "Emotional roller coaster. I think you get so excited. Endy (Chavez) makes one of the best catches I've ever seen. You think everything's going your way. I thought we won."

"Poor second half" — "It depends on how you describe poor. If having lower home runs with less at-bats is poor "¦ if you look at the numbers; I saw the numbers for the first time (recently). I'm not gonna sit here and defend myself but "¦ my second-biggest month as a run producer was in August (he had 21 RBI) and my highest batting average in September (.360)."

Playoffs — "Great experience. Just to get that under your belt is a learning experience. Learning to control your emotions, learning to go out there."

How'd you feel about your performance and your composure?

"I felt great against the Dodgers. Felt good against the Cardinals. Felt good at the plate. Was just very bad timing to have some bad luck mixed in with some bad at-bats. Just a little overaggressive."

Willie Randolph — "Tremendous leader. Tremendous motivator. Players' manager. Knows what it takes to play this game."

"The Show: MLB '07" — (Laughs) "Very, very cool. To grow up playing video games and to now be on a cover "¦"

"Happy Gilmore" — (Laughs) "Great movie. My kind of comedy — silly type stuff."

What's your favorite scene?

"I could pretty much quote the whole movie. "¦ The fight with Bob Barker. I like Shooter McGavin's character. I got one of the biggest kicks last year — we were having dinner at Smith and Wollensky's and 'Shooter McGavin' walked in. I was talking to him "¦"

Were you more excited to meet him or vice versa?

"(Big grin) I was probably more excited to meet him."

Fame — "I think that it's definitely "¦ playing in New York and being successful as a team takes that to a new level. It's important to me to be a role model. I like to see the kids' faces when they're waiting for us. Not just for me, but for Pedro or Glavine. I watch them.

"I see how much we mean to them. I think we need to think about that."

New York nightlife — "It can be "¦ when I think of New York nightlife, I think of choices, decisions and consequences. Obviously, being 24 years old and single in New York, there's a lot of could-be decisions out there. You have to be careful you just make baseball your No. 1 priority."

At 24 and with your popularity, is that a pretty big challenge?

"No, because I was raised the right way. When I make up my mind to accomplish something "¦ when I was in school, it was important to me to be the best in that class or the best at that sport; everything to me is competition. I love it."

You hear whispers occasionally that you might have gotten distracted by hanging out last year at times. What do you think?

"Completely false. Nothing's farther from the truth. Anything that takes away from what I do on the field "¦ I would have a hard time dealing with myself if I let my teammates down and that would hurt me a lot."

Derek Jeter has balanced that really well — having fun but keeping baseball his priority. Is that someone you can look to?

"You talk about 'the guy.' (Smiles) If you talk about a present leader "¦ you can't mold a better guy and a better ballplayer."

You're the first guy in this town that any of us in the media have really compared to Jeter. "The Mets' Jeter" "¦ I know you want to be your own player, but what do you think of that?

"I just feel it's unfair to Derek because he's done a lot of winning. Until I put some rings on my finger "¦ he's a winner. You can't help but respect a guy who gives up every little bit when he steps on the field — puts his all into winning. And you know he means it."

Have you guys had much chance to interact? When was the last time you talked?

"Probably the All-Star Game. He's great. Always ready to offer me advice when I need it. He definitely goes out of his way to let me know if I need anything, let him know."

What's the best advice he ever gave you?

"'Go out there and play winning baseball. Stay within your game.' It sounds simple but "¦"

David Wright, (eventual) Hall of Famer? — "Not even close to anything in my mind. There's a lot of great players out there. I'm really more concerned with winning a World Series. I would trade everything to put a ring on my finger. I would love to experience what it's like to be the absolute best and walk around New York with a ring. New Yorkers — that's what they want. They don't want individual performances. That's what New Yorkers want. They're waiting for that."

Mets — World Series champions — (Big smile) "It's got a good ring to it. Just hearing the stories from HoJo or hearing the stories from the other guys from '86. It just gives you butterflies. It gives you chills to see the look on their faces. It gives them a pride "¦ hearing them talk about it — a smile always comes to their faces. You can see the excitement even 21 years later."

Marriage — (Laughs) "Not any time in the near future. Maybe at the tail end of my career. At 24, you can only have one love, and my passion's on the field."