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COOPERSTOWN — Roberto Alomar will give his Hall of Fame induction speech this afternoon and try to put into words what this day means to him. He will talk about how baseball touched his heart.
To truly understand, all you have to do is talk to his mother, Maria. When Roberto was a young player, around 10 years old, he went from his home in Salinas, Puerto Rico, to the Dominican Republic to play in a tournament with his brother, Sandy.
The poverty in that nation hit him with such force that when he left, he told his mother to leave all his belongings behind for the Dominican children.
“Everything,” Maria told The Post in a quiet corner of the Otesaga Resort Hotel. “His suitcase, his bat, his glove, everything, even his shoes. He said, ‘Mommy, I can’t just go and take all my stuff home. I don’t want it. These children have nothing. They need it.’
“He’s never told anyone that story, but that’s what happened. Roberto is quiet, but he’s always had a big heart.”
I have known Alomar since he came up as a rookie with the Padres in 1988, long before he made that one mistake, spitting at an umpire.
Alomar was raised right, and of that day in the Dominican 33 years ago, he said: “Yes, I remember that. I just felt so bad for those kids. That made me appreciate everything I had. People really don’t know me. I like to give back in a quiet way.”
Alomar, who played near the end of his career for the Mets, will be inducted along with right-handed pitcher Bert Blyleven and executive Pat Gillick.
Longtime baseball executive Roland Hemond is being honored, too. The combination of players from two eras and longtime executives has brought a large contingent of baseball officials here, including a group from the Phillies, headed by general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. You can be sure there are Carlos Beltran conversations going on over the weekend.
Alomar has many family members here, including his father, Sandy, who played in the majors for 15 seasons and was a coach with the Mets, and his brother, Sandy, a catcher, who played 20 years in the majors and is a coach with the Indians. Roberto played 17 years in the majors. That’s 52 years of major league experience.
Maria is the ultimate baseball wife and mom.
“I’ve been around the game for a long time,” she said. “It’s a hard game.”
When Alomar was with the Blue Jays, he helped a young man suffering from cerebral palsy named Spencer Miller.
“I first met him when he was 8,” Alomar said. “And now he will be here for my induction. He’s doing great. He has his own radio show.
“I would never be the player I became,” said Alomar, who received 90 percent of the vote, “if not for my family. Everybody sees this now, but they don’t know how hard I worked from Day 1 and my mother took me and Sandy everywhere. She was always running between games.”
Sandy was much more outgoing, Maria said. Roberto was focused solely on baseball. She would sometimes record games and, as a youngster, Roberto would go home and watch the video to improve.
“He would always be working on his swing,” Maria said. “He always said he wanted to win and wanted to play for the fans. He wanted to give them special moments to remember.”
Now he’s in the Hall of Fame.
“I never played the game to be in the Hall of Fame,” Alomar said. “I played the game because I Ioved the game. I never played the game to win Gold Gloves or Silver Bats, I didn’t know about that stuff. I never played for numbers. I was playing the game because I loved the game, and so many things have come from that.
“I owe it all to my mom and dad. They are my foundation. Without a foundation you cannot reach your dreams.”
This is the place where baseball dreams come true.
ROBERTO ALOMAR
Debut: April 22, 1988
Teams: Padres, Blue Jays, Orioles, Indians, Mets, D’backs, White Sox
Hits: 2,724 – Home runs: 210
RBIs: 1,134 – Stolen bases: 474
Career average: .300
12-time All-Star – 10 Gold Gloves
2 World Series titles
BERT BLYLEVEN
Debut: June 5, 1970
Teams: Twins, Rangers, Pirates, Indians, Angels
Wins: 287 – ERA: 3.31 – Strikeouts: 3,701
2-time All-Star – 2 World Series titles – 1989 Comeback Player
of the Year – Pitched no-hitter on Sept. 22, 1977
PAT GILLICK Yankees’ coordinator of player development (1974-75)
Blue Jays GM (1978-94) – Orioles GM (1995-98) – Mariners GM (1999-2003) – Phillies GM (2005-08)
5 Division titles (’85, ’89, ’91, ’92, ’93) – 3 World Series titles (’92, ’93, ’08)
kevin.kernan@nypost.com