TAMPA, Fla. -- To Brett Gardner, it still seems like yesterday that he was viewed as one of the Yankees' rising prospects, attending Spring Training with a football number on his back while wedging his belongings into a locker between Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano.
As he prepares for a 10th season in pinstripes, Gardner has upgraded his real estate in the home clubhouse at George M. Steinbrenner Field, taking over a corner locker previously used by Carlos Beltran -- an honor befitting the Yankees' longest-tenured player.
"It's crazy.