Davis' parents arrive at Citi Field to see son play

Ron Davis just had a feeling.

His gut had told him to book a flight from Arizona to Flushing Sunday, just in case. Just in case, Mike Jacobs' designation for assignment wound up being Ike Davis' ticket to the Big Apple.

Ron, a former major-league pitcher for 11 seasons (including four with the Yankees) had turned to his wife, Kendall, and said: "I oughta jump on a plane right now." But he didn't.

The next morning, around 9:20 a.m. (PST), Ike called him and said: "Hey, guess what? They called me."

The Davis family eventually left their Scottsdale home Tuesday morning and landed in New York at about 4:30 p.m. They were greeted by the media within the hour.

Not even a flat tire - discovered just before takeoff - or a one-hour delay could dampen their moods. "Our big dream was to get everybody here," said Kendall, who added that Ike was the youngest of five in their blended family. "If we had one more day's notice, we could've done it.

" He's the most affable, affectionate person; just an easy kid to be around. And he's that way with all kinds of people. I'm proud of his character as much as his baseball skills."

The 23-year-old was unfazed by the steady flash of camera bulbs when he stepped into the batter's box in his major-league debut Monday night against Chicago. He went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

The Davis family watched his coming-out party from their Scottsdale home, where they hosted a party for about 50 guests. "It was a madhouse," said Ron, who proudly wore a Mets cap Tuesday. "I got food in the oven and food on the stove and I'm getting these people in and getting the TVs set up and I'm talking to this [radio] station right here . . . I was like a disaster.

"If he goes out there and makes two errors and strikes out four times on his Opening Day and you just invited 50 people over to your house and you called another 1,000 people to watch it, you're going to feel like, 'What did I do? I set him up for failure.' "

Last night, he and his wife watched from their seats in section 124 as their son struggled, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, a walk and a run scored in the Mets' 4-0 win.

When asked earlier in the day about his son's big-league ability, Ron, who said Ike always reminded him of former Met John Olerud, replied: "He's ready, baseball-wise. Now, is he ready to play in the big leagues every day? We'll tell you in two months."

In the meantime, the Yankees-Mets chess set Kendall bought as a Christmas present for a then-14-year-old Ike will continue to be prominently displayed in the family's living room.

"Little did we know," she said with a laugh. "I just bought it because Ron played for the Yankees . . . And then as soon as he [Ike] got picked by the Mets we thought, 'Oh my God, that's awesome.' "