BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Padres Throw Votes to Piazza

The San Diego Padres don’t have an official say in the matter since the voting is conducted by 28 members of the media, but they have already begun their Most Valuable Player campaign.

The Padres are convinced the 1995 MVP should be Dodger catcher Mike Piazza.

“A lot of people think he’ll be the MVP when the year’s over,” said Merv Rettenmund, Padre batting coach, “but I think he’s the MVP already. The guy is unbelievable.”

Said Padre all-star right fielder Tony Gwynn: “I find myself just standing there and watching him. His swing is so mechanically sound. I’ve never seen a ball jump off someone’s bat the way his does. There’s not many guys in our league who have the same kind of ability as Barry Bonds, but Piazza does.

“I like Barry Bonds a lot, but Barry’s going to have to put up some magnificent numbers this year to beat out Piazza.”

Piazza, who defeated the Padres with a three-run, ninth-inning homer Monday, is batting .395 with 12 homers and 35 runs batted in, despite playing only 32 games. Projected over a 162-game season, Piazza would have 61 homers and 177 RBIs.

Perhaps the most amazing statistic, however, is that Piazza is batting a league-leading .471 with two outs and runners in scoring position this season.

“That’s an MVP, just give it to him,” said Joe Amalfitano, Dodger third base coach. “That number [.471] tells you all you need to know what kind of season he’s having.”

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Ever wonder who plows through the bundles of mail Piazza receives each day?

Would you believe Margo Hansell, the mother of Dodger pitcher Greg Hansell?

“My mom loves it,” Hansell said. “It’s great for me too. Whenever I feel down, I just start opening a few of Mike’s letters myself and I feel great again.

“The letters he gets are just unbelievable.”

Margo Hansell became Piazza’s unofficial fan club president when Piazza moved in with the Hansell family when he was called up to the big leagues in 1992.

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The Padres, who have had only 16 RBIs from their cleanup spot the last 40 games, have engaged in preliminary talks with the Toronto Blue Jays in an attempt to possibly acquire all-star left fielder Joe Carter. The Blue Jays say they will decide by the end of the week whether to start unloading several of their high-priced veterans. . . . The Dodgers’ quartet of Eric Karros, Raul Mondesi, Piazza and Billy Ashley has combined for 46 home runs in the first 57 games. In 1977, when Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, Dusty Baker and Reggie Smith became the first quartet to hit 30 homers apiece for the Dodgers, they had 48 homers after 57 games. . . . The Dodgers broke the one-million attendance mark Tuesday.