Certainly, he appeared calm and relaxed when he arrived at the clubhouse at 10:57 Tuesday morning, wearing a black T-shirt reading, “New York or Nowhere,’’ black jeans and black and lime tennis shoes. He changed clothes and joked with two visiting clubhouse attendants before heading to the trainer’s room.
And in between games of the doubleheader, twice he came out of the clubhouse to visit with friends and family, hugging his mom, laughing with his dad.
Please, he said.
He even laughed and shook his head in bewilderment Monday after the game when he overheard reporters asking teammate Giancarlo Stanton whether he was pressing. Is anyone watching him? He looked as relaxed as if he was getting ready for a spring-training game in Tampa. He threw baseballs into the upper deck for fans and signed autographs for five minutes before batting practice and two minutes afterwards.
“I think everybody else is pressing,” said Stanton, who hit 59 homers for the Marlins in 2017. “Everybody wants to see it. He’s sitting there, taking walks, hitting the ball hard. Even though people don’t like doubles and singles at this time, it doesn’t matter.
“That’s a great story, to have him pressing, but his at-bats have looked great. He’s not taking wild swings or chasing out of the ordinary.’’
Said Higashioka: “He’s just going about his business like normal. He’s the ultimate professional. We all look up to him in terms of his demeanor and the way he carries himself.
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