Amid All the Acclaim, Rodriguez Still Plays the Game of Life : Baseball: Miami high school shortstop stays level-headed while others around him forecast a major league future.

The connection is fine, but you have a hard time believing it’s Alex Rodriguez, high school baseball phenom, possible No. 1 pick in the June draft, on the other end of the phone line from Miami.

“I have a girlfriend, I go to movies, I go to parties just like any high school senior,” Rodriguez, Miami Westminster Christian High’s slick-fielding, hard-hitting shortstop is saying. “I’m just a regular high school kid who gets a little more attention.”

And Clint Eastwood is merely a regular actor who won an award a couple of weeks ago.

You call a two-page spread in the March 22 issue of Sports Illustrated, interviews with ESPN and all the Miami television stations, stories in major newspapers, 63 pro baseball scouts at your first game of the season, agents calling you every day, fans asking for your autograph when you get off the bus for a road game--a high school road game--a little more attention?

For Rodriguez, a 6-foot-3, 195-pounder one scout has called “the next Cal Ripken,” it’s about the only safe and sane way to approach this whirlwind of a spring.

Be modest.

Keep a level head.

Concentrate.

“Our objective is to concentrate on this season and let everything else take its course, but outside factors make it impossible for him to have a normal year,” said Rich Hofman, Westminster Christian’s coach.

“He may be one of the highest-profile high school players in a long time. But there’s a big danger in not focusing on what he has to do, because, ultimately, that’s going to get him where he wants to go.”

Destination: University of Miami? Seattle Mariners? Dodgers? Who knows?

Rodriguez, 17, signed with Miami--Cal State Fullerton was his first choice, but he said he chose the Hurricanes because his mother wanted him to stay closer to home--but his letter of intent might be moot when pro baseball starts flashing money at him.

A top-five pick, as Rodriguez is projected to be, can expect a signing bonus of from $400,000 up, and if Rodriguez is the No. 1 pick, as some believe, it could be in the $1-million range.

Rodriguez has talked with others who have gone through what he is experiencing.

“They said the most important thing is to get treated fairly, don’t get impressed by a certain amount of money and don’t sell yourself short,” Rodriguez said. “I’d love to go to college--honestly, I would. But it will depend on where I’m picked, what my market value is and what the team’s plans are for me.”

In the meantime, Rodriguez is trying to concentrate on this season, a challenge that seems to grow with every newspaper article or television feature.

He had a .606 average with seven homers, 21 runs batted in and 12 stolen bases in his first 10 games but slipped a bit, to .471 with seven homers and 27 RBIs.

Westminster Christian, a private, nondenominational school with about 100 boys in grades 10-12, was 33-2 last season and was named national champion by USA Today. The school is ranked third now and is 21-3. It finished third in the recent Upper Deck tournament in Orange County, behind Simi Valley and Irvine.

“It’s tough because every pitcher is having a career at-bat against Alex,” Hofman said.

Rodriguez has noticed players treating him differently, especially since the Sports Illustrated piece came out.

“When I get off the bus, the whole team looks at me, and when a guy gets a strike on me, he pumps his fist, even though it’s only one strike,” Rodriguez said. “You can see the intensity in their eyes. One guy threw 90 m.p.h. against me and was clocked at 87 on the other two batters the same inning. It’s kind of fun.”

So are some of the perks that come with being one of the nation’s top high school players. Rodriguez met Ripken, the Baltimore Orioles’ shortstop, a few weeks ago, and in March, at the request of Manager Tom Lasorda, he spent a day with the Dodgers in Vero Beach.

“It was the best day of my life,” said Rodriguez, a native of the Dominican Republic whose family moved to Miami when he was in the fourth grade. “Tommy’s a great guy, and he treated me well. Any time you get to meet Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis, it’s a heck of a day.”

Hofman said the Dodgers are interested in Rodriguez, and executives from the Seattle Mariners, who have the first pick in June, have also spent a lot of time scouting him.

“He’s the best combination of the five major tools--defense, throwing, running, hitting and hitting for power--that I’ve seen,” said Hofman, in his 25th year at Westminster Christian.

Rodriguez’s tool belt was a lot lighter two years ago. As a sophomore, he was a tall, skinny, good-fielding shortstop who hit only .280--but not for lack of trying.

“He swung at everything that moved,” Hofman said.

Rodriguez hit .467 with 51 runs, 42 stolen bases and 22 RBIs in 1992. He added 20 pounds through an off-season weight program and, with specialized training, reduced his 60-yard dash time from 6.8 seconds to 6.54.

Rodriguez has developed into a top prospect, but what might be even more impressive than any of his statistics is the maturity with which he has handled all of it.

Hurricane Andrew deserves partial credit for that, Rodriguez said. Last summer’s storm caused $3-million damage to Westminster Christian, including $100,000 to the baseball field, but it also helped put Rodriguez’s life in perspective.

“I realized after the hurricane that baseball is just a game; that whether you’re rich or poor, the most important thing is your health, personality and how you go about life,” Rodriguez said. “I was happy to be alive and have my family healthy. I’m just a human being with a little more talent than some people. I can handle that.”