Saul Martinez for The New York Times
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Dominic Smith, the somnolent first baseman for the Mets, strapped a new sleep apnea mask over his hair on a recent night, unfurled a five-foot hose affixed to an airway pressure machine and pressed the power button.
Air streamed into his mouth and nose to force his airways open with pressure from the mask. He spoke of the apparatus like a new glove.
“Still breaking it in,” he said, lying on his back in a king-size bed at his rental house.
While this mask was new, Smith’s struggle to get a good night’s sleep dates back to high school.