TAMPA, Fla. -- He was everything the New York Yankees have not been for the past several years: tenacious, athletic, speedy and willing to jump off a building, if necessary, to achieve his goal.
Only in this case, "he" was a raccoon, and his objective was not to win the World Series, but merely to escape with his life.
As the Yankees inch their way toward their first spring training game on Wednesday, the most exciting moment of a sleepy Sunday in camp was the spectacle of a raccoon running amuck through Steinbrenner Field while the team was in its clubhouse getting a lengthy, and wordy, briefing from MLBPA executive director Tony Clark.