MLB

Hawkins, 40, having fun in latest job hunt

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PORT ST. LUCIE — LaTroy Hawkins received a phone call from his brother recently that reminded him to appreciate the opportunity still in front of him.

“My brother said if he had my hands, he would cut his off,” the Mets reliever said yesterday. “I said, ‘Why would you do that?’ He said, ‘You’re 40 years old and you’re playing a kids’ game.’ He had a good point. You can’t beat that.”

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Hawkins, who signed a minor league contract with the Mets during the offseason, has no guarantees. But in a muddled bullpen equation, the veteran right-hander could emerge as an option, with the added bonus for the Mets of using Hawkins to mentor the organization’s younger pitchers.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Hawkins stands out for his chiseled frame, which is the envy of players half his age. Hawkins likes to boast his arm isn’t what it once was, but he can still run with just about anybody in camp.

“If I’m somebody in this camp, and I’ve got a guy that is 40 years old and has the body of a 22-year-old and still throws 94 [mph], I would be finding out what he does to stay in shape,” manager Terry Collins said.

Hawkins had a solid 2012 season for the Angels, appearing in 48 games and going 2-3 with a 3.64 ERA. It came after a season Hawkins called maybe his most satisfying in baseball: He went 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA in 52 appearances for a Brewers team that reached the 2011 NLCS before losing to the Cardinals.

Hawkins began his major league career as a starter with the Twins in 1995 and struggled for five years before manager Tom Kelly saw the wisdom in converting him to a reliever.

“If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t be playing right now,” Hawkins said. “I’m forever grateful to Tom Kelly. He told me that with my arm and athletic ability and body, I can pitch every day, and he thought I would be more successful in the bullpen. It forever changed my career.”

Hawkins has been around so long he served as a mentor to Johan Santana, who began his major league career as a reliever with the Twins.

“I was with Santana when he was sitting in the bullpen just rotting, wanting to pitch, knowing he could pitch and just waiting his time and being very patient,” Hawkins said. “He could have easily been very impatient, but he had a lot of patience and it worked out for him in the end.”

Hawkins also had a forgettable stint with the Yankees, posting a 5.71 ERA in 33 appearances in 2008 before the club designated him for assignment. Hawkins caught heat from fans that year because he wore No. 21 — which had gone untouched following Paul O’Neill’s retirement after the 2001 season.

“Everything that could go wrong went wrong,” Hawkins said of his stint in The Bronx.

But he resurrected his career with 1 1/2 solid seasons with the Astros before going to the Brewers and Angels. Now he’s out to show the kids in Mets camp a thing or two.

“Most of them want to know, ‘How you still do it? Why you still do it?’ ” Hawkins said. “I love to compete, that’s why I do it. I love to compete, especially against the younger guys. I can still run with the best of them. I just can’t throw with the best of them.”

mpuma@nypost.com