SERBY’S SUNDAY Q&A WIT H ... Jay BRUCE

Mets outfielder Jay Bruce takes a swing at some spring training Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.

Q: When you were 9 years old, you called the Kingdome to try to speak with Ken Griffey Jr.

A: Remember the 1990s phones that you could see all the guts of? And I dialed information, I think it was 1-411, or 411 maybe. And asked for the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington, and when the operator picked up, I asked for Ken Griffey Jr., and they obviously told me that I couldn’t talk to him, but I’ve talked to him a few times since then.

Q: Were you upset that you couldn’t get through to him?

A: I mean, I’m sure I was, I don’t really remember my emotions, but I figured it was a long shot to talk to him anyway, but I thought I’d give it a try.

Q: What was it about Griffey that appealed to you so much?

A: I think he was just so cool, man. Everything he did was cool. He made the game look easy. He had a blast out there, it looked like. And hitting the homers, robbed the home runs, he was the best player on the field at the time.

Q: Tell me about the first time you met him.

A: It was 2005, I had gotten drafted, and I went to Cincinnati to sign my contract, and I went into the clubhouse and he was sitting on his big black trunk that he traveled everywhere with. It was like meeting a superhero, man, honestly. Your whole life you idolize someone, then you end up in the same organization, and then a few years later I get to play with him — I played center field, he’s playing right field. It was pretty crazy.

Q: Tell me about the time you autographed baseballs for Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

A: 2007 I won the Minor League Player of the Year, and the Cincinnati Enquirer came out with a little article, and I think the title was “The Next Big Thing” or something. So Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey made me sign baseballs to Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, and said: “To Derek — Jay Bruce, The Next Big Thing,” and “To Alex, Jay Bruce, The Next Big Thing.” We were in Tampa playing the Yankees and I had to give it to ’em, so I send it over with the clubbies and I met ’em on the field afterwards, and they gave me a hard time about it, they laughed, it was funny. It was just good, clean fun.

Q: What was that like for you being called “The Next Big Thing”?

A: It didn’t mean a lot to me, honestly. I didn’t really ever let that kind of stuff creep into my mind.

I understand the difficulty of this game. I just wanted to play ball, man. That’s it. I just wanted to be the best baseball player I could be, and try to win a World Series and become a major leaguer, ’cause at the time I wasn’t in the major leagues yet. So I wanted to do whatever I could do to get to the major leagues and stay there, that was the only thing on my mind.

Q: What is your on-field mentality?

A: Pretty even keel, professional ... pretty, I guess, stoic ... very, very determined. I’m a huge believer in the process. I try not to get too high or too low on the results, because I understand that it’s kind of a marathon, not a sprint. It’s a game. It’s something I’ve always loved to do.

Q: What drives you?

A: Always be better, always continue to get better. Win a World Series. Obviously support my family. Fortunately, I’m in a position financially where that’s all taken care of, and obviously the longer you play, the more money you’re gonna make. ... For me, that’s kind of a byproduct. It’s not the only reason I play the game. I feel like when you play baseball, you’re always chasing perfection, knowing that you’re never gonna get there. And for me, it’s like a puzzle that we’ll never have all the pieces. It’s really fulfilling to me to get to come to the field every day and work on something that will never be perfect, but you just feel like you’re inching closer all the time to beat that, and that’s why I wake up every day.

Q: Have you had a better moment than your divisionclinching walkoff home run for the Reds against the Astros on Sept. 28, 2010?

A: No. No that’s the best baseball moment I’ve ever had. Being called up is probably up there, making the All-Star team three times is obviously a big honor, but to do something for a team, for an organization, for a city is something that I never even imagined in my wildest dreams. That was really, really awesome. For me to be in a position to be the guy who did that is something that I’ll never ever forget.

Q: Is this a World Series team?

A: Oh, I definitely think so. Obviously barring injuries and stuff like that, I think that we are as capable as any team in the league. I believe that we’re on the very, very short list, if not the best team in the National League. It’s all gonna depend on health. I think that we are capable of doing a lot of things on both sides of the ball to win games.

Q: What is it like playing in the New York market?

A: It’s awesome. It’s definitely a little different — I guess a lot different than Cincinnati — but it’s a group of very, very passionate fans. A lot of ’em, and everything’s magnified, good and bad. I think that that’s kind of the nature of the beast. It’s a really, really fun city and market to play in, so I’m excited about having a full year here.

Q: Some guys are scared off by New York, and I think there was an unfair perception you might have been one of them.

A: (Laugh) Yes, I would say that’s the most unfair. Like I mentioned earlier ... I don’t get intimidated by anything. First off, it was such a small sample size. Last year was my most consistent season of my major league career, to be honest with you, other than August. Honestly, I really couldn’t care less about the city that I play in, or what the media writes about me or what fans say about me. I don’t play the game to get praise from fans and the media. It’s just not something I really care about very much, and it just doesn’t bother me. I guess that’s happened in the past to people, or people have decided that guys can’t handle the city or the market, whatever it may be, but that’s something that doesn’t even enter my mind and honestly I could not care less about (chuckle).

Q: How is it going adapting to first base?

A: I don’t really plan on adapting to it at all, to be honest with you. I plan on Lucas Duda being healthy all year, and if he’s healthy, I’ll never go over there. This is an emergency situation from my understanding, so I don’t worry about it very much at all.

Q: But you’re confident you could handle it in a pinch, right?

A: Oh yeah, absolutely.

Q: Personal goals?

A: No. 1, and first and foremost, stay healthy. 2, really stick to and trust my routine and my process that I have. And I think with that, everything else kind of will fall in place. And the third is to win a World Series. That’s more of a team than personal, but I think that I can be a pretty big part of that.

Q: Favorite movie? A: “Good Will Hunting.”

Q: Favorite actor? A: Matt Damon.

Q: Favorite actress? A: Reese Witherspoon.

Q: Favorite singer/ entertainer? A: Drake.

Q: Favorite meal? A: Chicken fried steak.