PEORIA, Ariz. -- Every time Mariners bullpen coach John Wetteland situates himself behind the steering wheel of the automobile that transports him to and from the Peoria Sports Complex, the dream a 7-year-old had almost 35 years ago comes to life.

It's not just an automobile, mind you, but a sleek, black Lamborghini Murciélago.

"I used to build a lot of model cars when I was young," Wetteland said. "I was looking through a car magazine and saw a Lamborghini Countach, a car they made in the late 1970s and '80s. When I first saw it, it was love at first sight.

"I drew a picture of it and put it up over my bed. I was 7 years old at the time and remember like it was yesterday."

As Wetteland advanced through his teenage years, the dream of someday owning a Lamborghini never waned.

"I have been a Lamborghini fan my whole life, and I kind of thought, even in the eighth grade and through high school, 'One of these days.'

"I always told myself, 'When I get to the big leagues, the first thing I'm going to do was get one,'" he said.

But the dream took a back seat to religion, and the professional baseball career came and went without the car of his dream in his garage.

"I became a Christian about the same time I got to the big leagues [1989 with the Dodgers], and I kind of thought that there were a lot of people I could take care of, rather than buy myself something like that," he said. "I vowed from that day forward that I would never buy it for myself."

That did not mean, though, that someone else couldn't get one for him, and his wife, Michelle, did just that two years ago.

"I don't know what prompted her to do it," he said, "but she said, 'For your birthday, I want to get you your dream car.'"

And so, on a hot August afternoon, they drove from their Argyle, Texas, home to the Dallas Lamborghini dealership. Wetteland picked out the car of his choice, and drove it home that night with a huge smile on his face. It has been his primary mode of transportation ever since.

"I never get tired of driving it," he said.

And people apparently never get tired of looking at it.

Wetteland, who had the car shipped from Texas to Arizona for Spring Training (and will have it shipped to Seattle later this month), drove it from Peoria to Tucson last weekend. Practically every set of eyes from the fans standing in line to purchase tickets for the Mariners-Rockies game stared as the machine wound its way through the parking lot, the twin exhaust pipes in the back emitting a "throaty, manly" sound.

Fans took notice of the fanciest thing in the lot on four wheels. Some took pictures, others just gawked, perhaps having the same dream Wetteland had years ago.

The dream had nothing to do with "status symbol," and everything to do with fun and even sharing.

"Anyone that knows me knows that I don't seek attention," he said, "and I'm astute enough to understand that it's a car, not a person."

If someone asks him to take it for a spin or two around the block, he's more likely to say "OK" than "no way."

In fact, he was a high school baseball coach and Bible-class teacher when he got the Lamborghini and occasionally "loaned" it to some of his students.

"I knew the kids and their parents. There were certain kids, absolutely, that I would let have it for the weekend," he said. "Can you imagine being a high school boy and picking up your date in a Lamborghini? It's wonderful. I would just tell them to return it sometime on Sunday.

"I knew these kids inside and out, and I trusted them."

There was never a dent, or a scratch, on the dream machine.