So that's how Reyes is drilling the ball!

Why exactly is Jose Reyes playing like the MVP of the planet?

"The big thing for me is being healthy," Reyes said before the Mets' 4-3 loss to the Angels at Citi Field on Friday night. "That's No. 1. Second one is I went to spring training this year 100 percent and played a whole spring training with no problem."

Anything else?

"I've got a new drill," Reyes said.

What is it?

"I can't tell you," he said. "It's a secret."

Reyes was laughing. But he wasn't kidding. He wouldn't reveal the exact details of his secret new drill other than to say it involves swinging and that he does it in the batting cage.

Whatever works, right? Especially when it's working this well.

"It's right before the game," Reyes said. "Like 6:30, I go to the batting cage and I take like eight, nine swings. I don't want to tell you what it is. It's a new thing that I'm doing. It's helped me out a lot."

The mind races. Is he swinging an imaginary bat? A Wiffle Ball bat? Is it his usual bat, but the ball is actually a cantaloupe? A grapefruit? Does he roll an inflatable bathtub into the cage and swing under water?

Reyes said the secret new drill was his idea and that he started it in spring training.

"Nobody else is doing it," he added. "Just me."

We could go to hitting coach Dave Hudgens or manager Terry Collins or some of Reyes' teammates in an attempt to discover the secret.

But out of respect for Reyes' privacy, we decided to leave it alone. Because even jaded journalists like us are enjoying watching his other-worldly play and don't want to be accused of jinxing it.

Reyes said he's not superstitious. But if he didn't get hurt the other night in Atlanta when he slipped three times in the Turner Field muck, then he's obviously got an angel on his shoulder right now.

Reyes is batting .344 with 20 doubles, 12 triples, three home runs, 28 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. He had 101 hits in his first 66 games; the old Mets record for fastest to 100 hits was 72 games (Lance Johnson, 1996).

Reyes leads the majors in hits and triples and has the highest batting average in the National League.

"This is the best start of my whole career," Reyes said. "There's no doubt in my mind. At this point, I've never been hitting over .340."

Reyes went 0-for-4 Friday night but walked leading off the bottom of the ninth and stole second. He was poised to score the tying run, but Angels closer Jordan Walden struck out the last three batters to leave Reyes at second.

Mets fans have rediscovered how much they love Reyes; that much was clear during pregame introductions and his at-bats Friday night.

Fans are funny. Many of them probably would swear on a stack of Mets yearbooks that they think Reyes is playing so well only because he's in his walk year. But it hasn't stopped them from chanting his name or pleading for the Mets to re-sign him, even if they know in their hearts that the more success he has, the less likely it is that the franchise will be able to afford him.

Reyes, for his part, knows the dollars will come if he stays on the field. So he's just going to keep working -- and keep doing that secret new drill.

"As a baseball player, you try to find something to work for you," he said. "It helped me a lot. So I'm going to continue with the same plan."