Wakeup Call

Everyone was dozing on the 2 train this morning.

“Maybe it’s the time of day,” Jon from Highbridge reasoned. “Or maybe it’s the time of year. Yeah, it’s probably just a flat spot in the middle of Spring Training.”

New York is just starting to shake off the winter rust.

“Sometimes baseball still seems a long way off,” Jon admitted. “It’s one of those things that never feels like it’s going to get here until it does.”

Then Opening Day cracks the door to a whole new season.

“It’s almost surreal,” Jon explained. “The Stadium is so familiar, but it’s like you’re seeing it for the first time. The game has only been in newspaper stories and on television all winter, but everything comes to life that day.

“It’s hard to describe the emotions because there’s so much going on,” he continued. “It’s like a map for the whole season unfolds. You get to see the kids and the new guys and, of course, the veterans.”

Jon paused and smiled.

“Just talking about it gives me a jolt,” he said. “I’m wide awake now so let’s play some baseball.”

Two weeks to go.