PORTLAND, Maine — It’s the ninth inning, and Portland Sea Dogs reliever Adam Lau is locked in. He grits his teeth and fires a fastball toward the plate, oblivious to his long hair flapping under his cap and more than 7,000 screaming fans at Hadlock Field. Later, he’s miles away in his 38-foot-long recreational vehicle in Wells, where nobody except the RV park owner has any idea who he is.
Around midnight, Lau is with his wife Kelly at their campsite, searching the sky for Mars and the Big and Little Dippers. The ocean is a mile away and the stars look close enough to touch.