Yankees spring training invaded by raccoon

The uninvited raccoon doesn't go away quietly from Steinbrenner Field.TAMPA - While the Yankees players were tucked away safely inside their clubhouse for a union meeting Sunday morning, Steinbrenner Field stadium personnel spent about 20 minutes trying to catch a raccoon that had camped out on the net behind the plate.

A stadium operations employee was sent up in a crane to retrieve the animal, who was hanging out on top of the net. After several failed attempts to lure the creature, the grounds crew member knocked the raccoon down off the net with a metal stick, sending the animal to a fall of more than 40 feet.

The fall didn't stop the raccoon from surrendering, though. The pesky little…