Walking out of the tunnel through the dugout on Tuesday afternoon, there was Carlos Zambrano and all of a sudden, it was 2007 again, a simpler time when a pitcher could beat up his catcher and not have to worry about GIFs or hot takes about the end of civilized society.
A reporter who fondly remembers his glory days yelled out, “Hey Carlos!” and he turned around, flashing a thumbs-up with a big smile.
To get to the field, Zambrano walked from the new space-age clubhouse through the tunnel full of inspirational messages up the stairs to the old clubhouse, which is now the batting cage, and down the familiar hallway out to the field.