Lakeland, Fla. – By now, the bus carrying a Detroit Tigers team to Port St. Lucie was on SR 60, a two-lane road ribbon that runs from Clearwater Beach to Vero Beach, binding Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic coasts.
At the wonderfully named Yeehaw Junction, the bus would turn south down Florida’s Turnpike until it reached First Data Field, for a game against the New York Mets, about 2 1/2 hours after it rolled from Tigertown’s clubhouse parking lot.
A few minutes after 8 a.m., a crew of Tigers players not working Sunday’s game stuck with spring camp’s routine in a clubhouse lightened by the 33 players (including seven minor-leaguers) on Mets duty.