Legends Field came to life Tuesday morning, and winter receded a little further into the background. The Yankees' first full-squad workout of Spring Training signaled a parade of superstars out of their clubhouse, and a longer parade of fans to watch them
In Florida, baseball and warmer weather have again kept their perennial date. The thermometer has been a little behind the pitchers and the catchers, who worked out in uncommon chill when their own drills began last Thursday.
But on Tuesday, shades of the old Bronx Zoo -- the Mike Mussina-Carl Pavano and Alex Rodriguez-Derek Jeter stories rattled the cages -- was replaced by a beehive.
After Jeter held the obligatory conference in the first-base dugout, he joined the hustle and bustle of the locker room.
The usual suspects and the new faces all took their places in the clubhouse. Except for that of Bernie Williams -- but it was apparent that camp had moved on without his presence.
Andy Pettitte was back in pinstripes where it seemed he should have always been.
Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon, whose lockers sit side-by-side, shared offseason stories with reporters.
Hideki Matsui sat at his locker in one corner of the clubhouse and worked on his pants, pulling and twisting them into shape. Doug Mientkiewicz and Andy Phillips talked shop about which glove they like to use the best, sharing and trying on each other's favorite mitt.
And a few lockers away, Bobby Abreu held court with fellow Venezuelens Miguel Cairo and and Alberto Gonzalez along with Dominicans Melky Cabrera and Humberto Sanchez as the group discussed the recent Caribbean World Series, won by the Dominican Republic.
It was strange to see more players than reporters surrounding Abreu, considering a year ago, just a few miles down the road in Clearwater, the slugger dominated most of the attention in the Phillies camp.
But such is the case with the jammed-marquee Yankees.
Fans lined up at the front of Legends Field well before the gates opened at 10 a.m. ET. When the word came, they rushed in faster than the bulls in Pamplona and, when the entire team sauntered out to the outfield area to stretch, a thunderous applause erupted from the stands as if Game 1 of the playoffs had begun.
"This is what it's all about," said Pat Amodio, 46, an engineer from Washington, D.C., who is in town with his family to see the Yankees. "You get that feeling like baseball is back. To see them up close like this, it just typifies what Spring Training means and the Yankees define it."
Yes, spring had definitely arrived.
Appropriately enough, as the Yankees spread out to warm up and play catch, the sun beamed down onto the field at Legends.
And, unlike the chill of Monday, it finally felt like things were in their proper places.
If the 70-degree weather suggested it, then Jeter and A-Rod playing catch confirmed it.
Soon, fans shed their windbreakers and donned suntan lotion. They shouted the names of their heroes in hopes a ball or an autograph might be had.
The atmosphere screamed of Spring Training and, when Damon exited the batting cages after smacking a home run and yelled, "Yeahhhhhhhh," the players knew it as well.
After practice, right-hander Tyler Clippard, 22, who is in Yankees camp for the first time, possibly summed it up the best: "It's hard to explain. To be surrounded by all these future Hall of Famers and to be a part of the mystique of the Yankees is pretty special. And, today, when everybody is here and the weather all of a sudden warms up like this, it seems like it all works out perfect. It's just a really special day."
The first of many special days, which is a thought that warmed participants and spectators as much as the sun itself.
