TAMPA — It’s one thing to see the names printed in a newspaper, or to watch them smile in front of cameras, or to see them launch batting-practice missiles that vanish and don’t reappear until they splash into the bay.
It’s one thing to tell yourself, “That’s a hell of a lineup.”
And something else entirely to see it spring to life, see the players who comprise it hop out of the dugout one after the other, listen to the public address announcer say the names, slowly for extra effect, and listen to a partisan crowd roar with every syllable.