BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Conine Getting the MVP Treatment

Jay Leno’s people called.

So did the guy who rented him a refrigerator four years ago.

So did former UCLA teammate Eric Karros.

And so did radio stations from Florida to Los Angeles to his birthplace of Tacoma, Wash.

It seems everybody has wanted a piece of Florida Marlin left fielder Jeff Conine since he was selected most valuable player of the All-Star game.

“I must have done 50 or 60 interviews since my homer,” Conine said.

How does that compare to his previous media dealings?

“In my previous three years,” Conine said, “I think maybe I did 20.”

Although the rest of the country has become familiar with Conine, apparently his acclaim has yet to make it to the Marlins’ team hotel in Los Angeles.

He told the hotel bellman to put his baggage, that included his uniform, on the team bus. Yet, when the bus arrived at Dodger Stadium, Conine’s bag was missing.

“I was afraid it was going to be in some card shop being sold for parts,” Conine said.

The Marlins dispatched a clubhouse attendant into rush-hour traffic to find the uniform and at 5:35 p.m., it arrived.

“That was close,” Conine said. “It would have been a little embarrassing just to play with my sweat bands.”

Conine, who was raised in Rialto and attended UCLA, also found his way into Cooperstown. The Hall of Fame took his bat and will display it for a year.

Conine, however, still has the full uniform, is negotiating with a man who caught his home run ball and will forever cherish the memory.

“I’m just coming back to earth now,” Conine said.

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The missing link in Nomomania will be rectified next week.

That’s when Hideo Nomo baseball cards will hit the market.

For those interested, Nomo will start Saturday night.

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Manager Tom Lasorda spent 10 minutes on the telephone before Thursday’s game cheering up 10-year-old Cody Morton, who’s in traction in the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Morton, who still faces extensive plastic surgery, was in a recent car accident with his Little League coach.

“Those calls are the hardest,” Lasorda said. “They just tear you up. I mean, it’s just a kid. He hasn’t done anything wrong in life.

“Those things just kill me.”