Adrian Gonzalez should have felt worn down. At 34 years old he had played in more than 160 games this year, many with excruciating pain in his neck or back.
Except there he was, standing in the middle of an otherwise empty locker room at Wrigley Field, smiling and laughing as he pointed here and waved there. Later, he illustrated an argument by throwing his arms out along his usual swing path.
“I love it,” he said.
There was something charming about a 13-year veteran sharing his thoughts on hitting with child-like enthusiasm.