ST. PETERSBURG - To say that Rays outfielder Damon Hollins has a certain hunger to make the team's 25-man Opening Day roster would be an understatement.

"It's a starvation," Hollins said, "just a straight starvation."

That's what happens when you spend 13 years in the minors, and then you taste that morsel of the big-league experience - and you can't wait for that second helping.

As a 31-year-old rookie last season, Hollins made the most of his first extensive chance to play in the majors. This spring, however, Hollins finds himself in a crowded outfield full of hungry youngsters. But Hollins is out to prove determination knows no age limit

"There are a lot of things that drive me and that's one of them," Hollins said. "Just that word, minor leagues, that word is not one of my favorite words. I don't know if it's the right word, but it's almost like you're scared to fail. I'm just obsessed with being a big-leaguer. I just feel it in my blood."

Hollins treats every game with equal importance, even the ones that don't count in the standings, like Tuesday's intrasquad scrimmage - a game in which Hollins was the star in front of about 600 fans at the Raymond A. Naimoli Complex.

Playing mostly with much younger players, Hollins went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs, pacing the Maulers over the Thumpers 5-2. His RBI double in the sixth broke a 1-1 tie. He later scored on B.J. Upton's fielder's choice. Hollins' two-run homer in the eighth gave his team extra insurance.

"I'm getting after it," Hollins said. "I'm trying to get after it every day. We've all got that green on today but there ain't no reason why I shouldn't try to go out there and get better. That's my focus every day, to come out here and get better and control what I can control. When I step in the box, I can do something about it then."

His attitude, which comes partially from having been in the minors for so long, is well received in the Tampa Bay clubhouse.

"I love this man's heart," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "I don't know him that well. But I can see it. I can see how everybody else responds to him. He's a very impressive guy. I'm seeing what a good baseball player he is, also.

"I just love the way he is," Maddon added. "People respond positively to him. You always respond positively to that kind of enthusiasm. He's got a joy for life, not just a joy for baseball."

Last season, Hollins started 90 games for the Rays, playing all three outfield positions. In his rookie season, he hit 13 homers and drove in 46 runs, even earning American League Rookie of the Month honors in May after hitting .325 with six homers.

He filled the clubhouse with energy and even soaked up tips from his younger teammates. Over dinner, he would talk to Rays left fielder Carl Crawford about baseball, asking him how he got such a quick jump on the ball. He asked injured teammate Rocco Baldelli for tips on how to patrol center field at the Trop with better range.

This spring, he is one of several players looking for a spot in the outfield. Baldelli returns from knee and elbow injuries that kept him out for the 2005 season. And Jonny Gomes likely will play right field and also DH. That leaves Hollins, speedster Joey Gathright and reigning Minor League Player of the Year Delmon Young fighting for an opportunity as the fourth outfielder or occasional DH.

But Hollins doesn't see it as a fight in the least bit.

"I've got to come out and just get better," Hollins said. "With the guys we've got out there, everyone has talent. It's not about talent. It's not about us really going at each other, I don't think. Everybody should want to rise up. It's not about one guy individually. It's about us as a group winning ballgames. I'm trying to get better. Everyone else should be trying to do the same. That's what spring training is for. We're not going against each other."

So Hollins will do his best to make the outfield shuffle a difficult decision for Maddon and the rest of the Rays brain trust.

On Tuesday, he made quite a first impression.

"None of us want to go back to the minors," he said. "We all want to make it hard for that front office and for the manager. You come out and you bust your tail and get after it as hard as you can and leave those guys scratching their heads after the day. I can just control the things I can control. The rest is out of my hands anyway."