Gonzalez says he is man with plan during season

For so much of the Mets’ spring training, 35-year-old first baseman Adrian Gonzalez looked very much like, well, a 35-year-old guy. He did not hit a homer until the 25th game of the preseason, which was last week.

But there was a very simple reason, Gonzalez claimed. It was spring training. “I’ve said it many times, spring training is not for me,” said Gonzalez — who went 2-for-3, walked twice, scored once and drove in a run in the Mets’ 9-4 Opening Day romp over the Cardinals at Citi Field on Thursday.

“I can’t game plan in spring training. I can’t get my body going. I can’t get a lot of things going like you can in the regular season,” Gonzalez said. “The No. 1 thing for me is game planning. I’m a terrible hitter when I have no game plan, and that’s why I’m a terrible hitter in spring training.”

No one was going to argue with Gonzalez for what occurred before he made his official Mets debut. He hit .207 in 19 spring games, and that was only because he got hot at the end. But again, it was spring training.

“Once the season starts, I can actually focus on my pitch and try to execute a game plan. That’s what I feel comfortable with,” said Gonzalez, who carried a .288 career average with 311 homers over 14 seasons into his first campaign as a Met.

After lining out in his first at-bat, Gonzalez walked in the third inning then doubled in a run during the Mets’ five-run fifth. That hit finished St. Louis starter and loser Carlos Martinez. The Mets eventually abused six Cards pitchers for 12 hits.

“It was great. Obviously getting off to a good start is huge, both personally and as a team. We were able to accomplish both,” Gonzalez said. “Good day overall.”

And the best part was that it wasn’t spring training, and it counted.

“I can’t just go up there and react. Pretty much my whole career I’ve been a guy trying to figure out the pitcher and know the pitcher,” Gonzalez said. “Spend a lot of time in the video room, and there’s zero time spent in the video room in spring training.”