Standing under the sweltering sun by the Long Island Ducks dugout, TJ Rivera refuses to call his time in the lowly independent Atlantic League a pit stop.
“Because I don’t feel like anything is guaranteed,” the former Mets infielder told The Post after batting practice last Thursday. “I don’t think there’s this easy route out.”
Many have stood in this spot before: 30-something-year-old, one-time major-league ballplayers clinging to one last bit of hope they can get back to the top of the mountain. Few do, while most fizzle out here.
The 30-year-old Rivera is keeping his dream alive after being released by the Mets in March after missing all of 2018 to recover from Tommy John surgery.