NEW YORKNEW YORK — Editor’s note: U-T San Diego videographer Sharon Annie Heilbrunn is following the Padres through New York and Chicago. She will be filing reports for the newspaper and numerous videos at
UTSanDiego.com/Padres. For more updates, follow her on Twitter: @annieheilbrunn
Friday morning brought less rain, less humidity and more good moods from the Padres, who beat the New York Mets 11-5 the previous night. Around 10:30 a.m., I arrived at the MLB Fan Cave in Greenwich Village with Cameron Maybin, Yonder Alonso and Andy Parrino. We got a tour — the place is sweet! — and played some video games, Skee-Ball (Maybin kicked my butt) and pool.
All three players were in heaven, mostly over the huge wall of flat-screen televisions and a plush, comfy couch. With all the colors, toys, drum sets and things to touch and play on — (including a slide that Parrino took from the second floor to the first) — the players loved the television wall the most.
The visit to the Fan Cave was good for them, they said. Maybin explained that it was perfect because it was just enough to get them away from the hotel, but low-key enough that they didn’t feel exhausted afterward. Between the time changes, the long drive to and from the ballpark and a new bed every few nights, they all said they haven’t gotten more than a few hours of sleep over the past few days.
In the afternoon, I took the subway to Citi Field with Nick Hundley and Chase Headley. The way baseball players get to the field is so interesting. In football, there is a regimented schedule full of meetings, meal times, curfews and required transportation while the team is on the road. Every player needs to board the bus by a certain time, and that’s how the team gets to the stadium. In baseball, you get there on your own time under any method you choose — town car, taxi, subway, bus. Heck, you can even parachute in if you want. (OK, that’s a little extreme, but I’d like to think that’s what I’d do.)
Headley and Hundley said they prefer the subway because it’s quick, easy, relaxing, and (best of all) there’s no traffic and no queasy feeling from riding in a New York taxi. It’s also inexpensive. If a player wants to take a town car, he can, but he’s paying for it. Hundley also said that even though they don’t have required meetings or curfews, they still stick to their routines on the road. They give themselves curfews; they give themselves a schedule and that consistency is what keeps them physically and mentally ready to play.
One more great thing about the day was getting the chance to chat with Hundley’s wife, Amy; Clayton Richard’s wife, Ashley, and Will Venable’s girlfriend, Kathryn. We talked a lot about what it’s like to be the significant other of a professional baseball player. It’s funny how excited they got for Chicago, and when I asked them why, they said: “Day games! We get to have dinner with our husbands!”
Ahh, the simple things.
