Eric Young

* The Dodgers’ 32-year-old veteran second baseman and leadoff hitter, who provides the spark for the team’s offense, ranks third in the National League in stolen bases.

Recovery Time: My weekends are pretty full during the season, with night games on Friday and Saturday and day games on Sunday. Most of the time, guys just want to rest. You definitely need that time to recover for a day game after a night game. I need a little bit more time now than when I was 25 or 26.

Dinner for Two: After a Friday game, my wife, Malika, and I might go out to dinner. Depends on how late the game is. Our favorite restaurants are Houstons in Century City and Georgia on Melrose. If there were some things that happened in the game and I need to vent, my wife is there to listen. We get it out of the way and that’s the end of it. We don’t talk about it the rest of the night or the next morning. It’s a new day and a new attitude.

Picture This: I love the movies. If we’re on the road and I have some time, that’s where I’ll definitely go--to check out a movie. I like action-adventure movies. “Lethal Weapon 4” was one of my favorites. I’m not sure what my Academy Award winner was last year; I’ll have to check my list. But it wasn’t “Shakespeare in Love.” That’s not for me.

Daytripper: If we have a Saturday day game, most likely our night will be filled with going to Gladstone’s down in Malibu for a nice dinner, maybe a movie at the AMC Century Plaza. But if my son [14-year-old Eric Jr.] is in town, it would be a day filled with whatever he wants to do. Maybe I would take him to Universal Studios. If he’s not here, it would be a day filled with whatever the wife wants to do.

Have You Ever Been Mellow?: I usually leave for the park at 2:30 for a 7 o’clock game. I’m a big Tupac Shakur listener going to the game. That pumps me up. I have to tone it down coming home. I might listen to a group called 112 or just some mellow music like the Whispers, something like that. I’m a big Lauryn Hill fan, too. That’s the kind of music that calms me down and gets me to thinking about other things.