There was no offseason for Stephen Cardullo, a player in search of a team.
Day after day he worked out last fall and winter, fueled by a dream to make the big leagues and sustained by self belief. He’d spent four years playing baseball for independent, unaffiliated minor-league teams. He was 28. Time was running out.
After spending his day working with other players chasing their own dreams, Cardullo would grab an early dinner at his parents’ home in Coral Springs, Fla. When his father got home from work around 6 p.m., the two of them headed over to Coral Springs Community Park for another two hours of batting and infield practice.