This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/05/sports/baseball/in-new-york-area-hunting-for-a-home-after-making-the-home-team.html
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| In New York, Hunting for a Home After Making the Home Team | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| After 14 years of bumping around the minor leagues, pitching in places like Aberdeen, Md., and Tulsa, Okla., Scott Rice had his first taste of the big leagues Monday as a member of the Mets. | After 14 years of bumping around the minor leagues, pitching in places like Aberdeen, Md., and Tulsa, Okla., Scott Rice had his first taste of the big leagues Monday as a member of the Mets. |
| But while he has moved into a locker at Citi Field, he has yet to move into an apartment. Rice, 31, learned he made the team last Friday in Florida, leaving him little time to hunt for a home. Like other newcomers, he is bunking at a Holiday Inn near the stadium. | But while he has moved into a locker at Citi Field, he has yet to move into an apartment. Rice, 31, learned he made the team last Friday in Florida, leaving him little time to hunt for a home. Like other newcomers, he is bunking at a Holiday Inn near the stadium. |
| Rice will search for something affordable that includes a parking spot and is not far from the ballpark. | Rice will search for something affordable that includes a parking spot and is not far from the ballpark. |
| “If you have any ideas on where to live, let me know,” Rice, a native of California, said this week. “I’m still going to live life like I’m on a minor league salary.” | “If you have any ideas on where to live, let me know,” Rice, a native of California, said this week. “I’m still going to live life like I’m on a minor league salary.” |
| Rice is not alone. Kirk Nieuwenhuis of the Mets and Chris Stewart of the Yankees are among other New York players — they are often backup players who are not sure of their roster status until the final cuts — rushing to find a home, a tradition as time-honored as opening day. | Rice is not alone. Kirk Nieuwenhuis of the Mets and Chris Stewart of the Yankees are among other New York players — they are often backup players who are not sure of their roster status until the final cuts — rushing to find a home, a tradition as time-honored as opening day. |
| Many players ask their teammates for tips, which sometimes leads to sharing an apartment to cut costs. Players returning to New York often know what neighborhoods they like. More than a handful of Mets, for instance, are returning to apartments in Long Island City, Queens. Mike Baxter, a Queens native, is among them, though he also lived with his parents in the borough’s Whitestone section for a stretch. | Many players ask their teammates for tips, which sometimes leads to sharing an apartment to cut costs. Players returning to New York often know what neighborhoods they like. More than a handful of Mets, for instance, are returning to apartments in Long Island City, Queens. Mike Baxter, a Queens native, is among them, though he also lived with his parents in the borough’s Whitestone section for a stretch. |
| “The best thing is, there’s a bunch of guys in Long Island City, so my wife can have a social network,” Baxter said. | “The best thing is, there’s a bunch of guys in Long Island City, so my wife can have a social network,” Baxter said. |
| Some Yankees prefer Pelham and Yonkers in Westchester County, or towns like Edgewater, N.J., just over the George Washington Bridge. | Some Yankees prefer Pelham and Yonkers in Westchester County, or towns like Edgewater, N.J., just over the George Washington Bridge. |
| Bachelors and young couples often look for apartments. Players with children often look for houses or town houses. But in the New York metropolitan area, where demand for rental properties typically outstrips supply, finding a landlord willing to offer a six-month lease can be difficult. (The Yankees, no doubt expecting to make the playoffs, usually want a seven-month lease.) | Bachelors and young couples often look for apartments. Players with children often look for houses or town houses. But in the New York metropolitan area, where demand for rental properties typically outstrips supply, finding a landlord willing to offer a six-month lease can be difficult. (The Yankees, no doubt expecting to make the playoffs, usually want a seven-month lease.) |
| That is where someone like Mimi Nieves comes in. An interior designer for ProHousing USA, she finds and furnishes apartments for members of pro teams in the New York metropolitan area, including the Mets and the Yankees. She has worked with R. A. Dickey, Robinson Cano, Brett Gardner and others, communicating with them by cellphone, e-mail and text messages. | That is where someone like Mimi Nieves comes in. An interior designer for ProHousing USA, she finds and furnishes apartments for members of pro teams in the New York metropolitan area, including the Mets and the Yankees. She has worked with R. A. Dickey, Robinson Cano, Brett Gardner and others, communicating with them by cellphone, e-mail and text messages. |
| Once she has a sense of a player’s budget, space needs and location preference, she scouts properties and sends the players and their wives photographs and videos while they are still training in Florida. She scopes out neighbors to get a sense of who lives nearby. She sends the players Google maps so they can visualize their commutes. Many players want to live in Manhattan until they hear how much it costs, then start looking elsewhere, she said. | Once she has a sense of a player’s budget, space needs and location preference, she scouts properties and sends the players and their wives photographs and videos while they are still training in Florida. She scopes out neighbors to get a sense of who lives nearby. She sends the players Google maps so they can visualize their commutes. Many players want to live in Manhattan until they hear how much it costs, then start looking elsewhere, she said. |
| “I keep a keen eye and ear open to give as much detail and opinion as possible,” Nieves said. “I am their eyes and ears and mouth, since I end up negotiating things for them, too.” | “I keep a keen eye and ear open to give as much detail and opinion as possible,” Nieves said. “I am their eyes and ears and mouth, since I end up negotiating things for them, too.” |
| Although the minimum salary in the major leagues is nearly half a million dollars a year, many players who live their major league lives on the fringe are cost-conscious because they know they are one hitting slump or one lousy start away from being demoted to the minors. | |
| Dillon Gee rented a furnished two-bedroom apartment in Long Island City last season, expecting to host visitors from Texas, where he grew up. This year he downsized to a one bedroom, which he still considers expensive. | |
| “My house in Fort Worth is three times bigger, and the mortgage is three times smaller,” said Gee, whose season ended early last year after a blood clot was discovered in his pitching shoulder. “As long as there’s a TV, a computer and a bed, I’m fine.” | “My house in Fort Worth is three times bigger, and the mortgage is three times smaller,” said Gee, whose season ended early last year after a blood clot was discovered in his pitching shoulder. “As long as there’s a TV, a computer and a bed, I’m fine.” |
| As the players were opening their seasons Monday in the Bronx and Queens, Nieves was setting up an apartment for Yankees infielder Eduardo Nunez on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. | As the players were opening their seasons Monday in the Bronx and Queens, Nieves was setting up an apartment for Yankees infielder Eduardo Nunez on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. |
| Some players she hoped to work with have found other options. Last season, Nieuwenhuis took over Mike Pelfrey’s town house in Great Neck on Long Island — a spot Nieves found — when Pelfrey had season-ending surgery. Though he loved the location, Nieuwenhuis needed roommates to cover the rent. So this year Nieuwenhuis considered asking Nieves to help him locate a one-bedroom apartment, but ended up with a new place through someone else. | Some players she hoped to work with have found other options. Last season, Nieuwenhuis took over Mike Pelfrey’s town house in Great Neck on Long Island — a spot Nieves found — when Pelfrey had season-ending surgery. Though he loved the location, Nieuwenhuis needed roommates to cover the rent. So this year Nieuwenhuis considered asking Nieves to help him locate a one-bedroom apartment, but ended up with a new place through someone else. |
| Despite all the effort to find a place, players do not spend much time there. They are on the road for long stretches and spend most of their days at the ballpark when they are in the New York area. If players are traded, injured or demoted, teams routinely pay any fees and penalties for breaking a lease. | Despite all the effort to find a place, players do not spend much time there. They are on the road for long stretches and spend most of their days at the ballpark when they are in the New York area. If players are traded, injured or demoted, teams routinely pay any fees and penalties for breaking a lease. |
| “You’re not hung out to dry if they move you,” said Collin Cowgill, the Mets’ new center fielder, who played parts of the last two seasons in Phoenix and Oakland, Calif. | “You’re not hung out to dry if they move you,” said Collin Cowgill, the Mets’ new center fielder, who played parts of the last two seasons in Phoenix and Oakland, Calif. |
| Rice, the newest of the newcomers, hopes to decide where to live this week, although on Thursday he was still at the Holiday Inn. No stranger to moving multiple times in one season, he knows from experience that he can end up being one of those players who is moved. “You feel you are one injury away, one step away, one phone call away,” he said. | Rice, the newest of the newcomers, hopes to decide where to live this week, although on Thursday he was still at the Holiday Inn. No stranger to moving multiple times in one season, he knows from experience that he can end up being one of those players who is moved. “You feel you are one injury away, one step away, one phone call away,” he said. |