Mets fan shares

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The start of spring training means plenty of people from the Tri-State Area are taking a getaway to Florida. 

Typically, New York fans head to spring training to escape cold weather. But it’s more of a reminder that baseball season is around the corner. 

For Mets fans, it can’t come soon enough. 

“It brings you back to a childhood playing baseball. You see these guys doing the basics, and I talk to the players, the coaches. I said to them that’s the drills we do back in Brooklyn. That’s what I did as a kid in Prospect Park. And the coaches say to me, ‘That’s baseball,'” said Mike Anacrelico. 

Spring training is work, but the players also embrace it as a time for fun. 

“I try to carve out some time early on where I can have some one-on-one fan interaction and become accessible to the point where it’s very hard to be during the season,” said Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo. 

“It makes me feel young again. It makes me feel like a kid, that’s the best part of it. And you really can’t get this experience back in New York,” said Paulie Treyman, from Brooklyn. 

MORE: Mets’ Lindor meets with fans, Senga hits 96 on gun at spring training

It may be just a few seconds for the players, but each autograph or picture gives the fans something extraordinary. Players are on every field, so one must have a game plan in order to get one. 

“I stay in one position pretty much the whole time, because if you bounce all over you might not get one person,” said 14-year-old Ryan Westby. 

It paid off for Ryan, who got Francisco Lindor’s autograph. 

“It was really cool to be up front with him and see how strong he was, how athletic,” he said.