Young Is Certain This Kid Is a Jewel

Eric Young proudly displays the beaded necklace his young friend recently gave him.

The Dodger second baseman has received many awards and honors, but few have meant as much to him as the gift from his little buddy, Don Drysdale Jr.

“D.J. wanted me to have good luck this season, so he bought me this,” Young said, holding the blue and white necklace that has become part of his everyday attire.

“D.J. said he had one like it, and it gave him good luck, so he wanted me to have one too. . . . That’s just the type of kid D.J. is, and that’s why we all like having him around.”

Donnie, as he is also known to family and friends, is the oldest child of legendary Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale and Ann Meyers, a four-time All-American basketball player at UCLA. Drysdale, a Hall of Famer and Dodger announcer, died of a heart attack July 3, 1993, while on a trip with the ballclub. He was 56.

His outgoing 11-year-old son has been a fixture at Dodgertown since he was too young to remember, attending spring training with his parents and gaining access to places most kids only wish they could.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Donnie, born on his father’s birthday, 51 years later. “I came with my dad before and I always liked it. I just like it a lot.”

Donnie often ditches his mom, brother and sister to spend time with players. He is especially fond of Young, whom he shadows.

“Me and D.J. got to be friends last year in spring training after I came back over [to the organization],” Young said. “He had just been born when I was coming up through the minors, so I really didn’t get to know about him until after I came back [from the Colorado Rockies in a 1997 trade]. I remember he just came up to me and said, ‘I’m Donnie,’ and started talking.

“He’s always asking questions about the game. He’s got that thing in him, like he wants to be here one day. You hear all the stories about his dad, what type of player he was and everything he meant to the Dodgers, and I think we all feel good that he feels so comfortable being around us so much.”

But Donnie doesn’t get a free ride.

“We put him to work,” clubhouse attendant Jerry Turner said as Donnie put cleaned spikes in players’ dressing stalls. “He helps us with stuff and we all watch out for him. Everybody loves him.”

Darren and Drew Ann Drysdale, 9 and 5, respectively, and their mother are also welcomed warmly during their annual trips to Dodgertown.

Not surprisingly, Donnie and Darren are among the top players on their Little League teams. Donnie pitches, catches, plays second and shortstop, and Darren pitches.

But Donnie enjoys the major league atmosphere the most, according to his mom.

“He’s a lot like his dad in a lot of ways,” she said. “He just loves being around the guys, and they have been great to him and all of us. It really started with Mr. [Peter] O’Malley and Tommy [Lasorda] because they kept us as a part of the family after Don died.”

Meyers was initially concerned about the amount of time Donnie spent with the players.

“I was very tentative because I don’t want the kids to take advantage,” Meyers said. “I don’t want them believing that they’re entitled to things just because of who you are. Don would have wanted them to earn that.

“But the players have been so good to him, starting with Brett [Butler] and Orel [Hershiser] and then the guys after that. Eric [Karros] has been great to him, and he has a special relationship with E.Y. [Young].”

And Young has a special necklace to prove it.

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Fans flocked to Dodger Stadium and jammed phone lines Thursday on the first day individual game tickets were available for sale.

The Dodgers sold more than 30,000 tickets for opening day, April 5 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, in the largest first-day sale in franchise history. Fewer than 1,000 tickets remain for opening day, team officials said.

Ticket vendors were deluged by customers throughout the day, and the Dodgers estimated the crowds at more than 5,000. Former players Don Newcombe and Steve Garvey, who now work for the ballclub, helped maintain order by mingling with fans.

Many would-be ticket buyers were unable to get through to the stadium by phone. Operators were unable to handle the volume of calls.

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Manager Davey Johnson supports having shortstops Mark Grudzielanek and Jose Vizcaino on the 25-man roster. Grudzielanek is expected to start and Johnson says believes Vizcaino would be a valuable reserve. . . . The Dodgers begin Grapefruit League play today against the St. Louis Cardinals at Holman Stadium. St. Louis slugger Mark McGwire will not play.