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Johnny Ramos could not sit still. He had been checking the clock for hours, and now he was shooting the time another glance, hoping, wishing, willing the game nearer. Unfortunately, an hour and a half still remained until first pitch.
The sun had not yet set in Carolina, Puerto Rico, a city on the northeastern tip of the main island, but Ramos was at home, ready for what Monday night would bring. The Kansas City Royals, his current employer, would play his former team, the Boston Red Sox, in a game the Red Sox would win, 6-5.
Most important was this: Emmanuel Rivera, a 25-year-old from Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, a town two hours east from where Ramos sat anxiously, would be making his MLB debut at third base for the Royals.