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ST. PETERSBURG - Another kid, another prodigy has come to hit. So the old ballplayer leans on the dugout rail to watch.
It is early Sunday morning at Tropicana Field and the ballpark is nearly empty. Just California prep star Delmon Young, the potential No. 1 pick, doing his best to impress Devil Rays front office types and scouts in a predraft workout.
The old ballplayer, who showed up before any of his teammates for treatment of some aching muscles, remains quiet during the entire drill.
Later he makes small talk with the kid and walks him through the clubhouse toward a locker the Rays have provided.
Returning to a chair in front of his locker, he is asked about his own workout on the same field in front of some of the same scouts.
"You know, it doesn't seem that long ago," he says. "Like I was just out there."
He was. Less than three years ago, Rocco Baldelli had his first workout at Tropicana Field.
And whiffed at the first batting practice pitch.
He is 21, going on ancient. Too smooth to be a rookie, too successful to be believed. Baldelli's major-league debut was six weeks ago, and already we are weighing his future with memories of those from the past.
Which hitter was quicker to first from the right side of the plate? Who was a better bad-ball hitter? How many centerfielders have you seen as graceful?
We are getting ahead of ourselves here, but Baldelli has no one but himself to blame. He has been too predictable, made it look too easy. For a franchise starving for an identity, his school-boy grin could make us swoon.
Sports Illustrated had a photographer in town for the weekend. USA Today's Sports Weekly is planning a cover story. Word is, there is not a Baldelli baseball card to be found for sale in Rhode Island.
The batting practice whiff may have been his first and last concession to nerves. His was a rapid delivery through the minors and he created new standards in his first month in the majors.
Through it all, Baldelli has carried himself with an unnatural grace. Confident, but not arrogant. Polite, but not overbearing. Dedicated, but not wound too tightly. Almost as if he were the team's most experienced player instead of the youngest opening day starter in franchise history.
"He's an intelligent kid," manager Lou Piniella said. "Very astute. Very astute for a young man."
Astute enough to know it won't last. Not like this. Not forever.
Oh, he's going to get better before it's over. Give him a few years and Piniella figures Baldelli to be a 30-homer guy. A middle-of-the-order type of star. Some day, others may be compared to him.
But there will be bumps before then. There will be pitchers who figure him out before he has a chance to adjust. There will be days when the bat doesn't move so quickly through the zone. There will be weeks when the hits seem impossible to find.
"I've struggled every year I've played, at some point. That's not even the majors. That's rookie ball and Class A," Baldelli said. "I know it's going to happen, but the key is how you adjust and how you handle it.
"I'm not completely comfortable here, but you have to feel like you belong. Like you're here for a reason. If you don't feel that way, you're never going to succeed."
Weeks ago there were those who questioned Baldelli's rapid ascent. Who wondered why the Rays would risk damaging the psyche of a valuable, young player. What those people never understood was Baldelli's character.
Not just the speed or the bat control but the way he blends in on a team. The maturity that players 10 years his senior never have discovered. The ease in which he accepts and, occasionally, deflects ballpark humor.
Rays pitchers sitting on the clubhouse couch Sunday afternoon were reading a newspaper account of city officials in Woonsocket, R.I., planning official proclamations in Baldelli's honor. The pitchers wondered aloud why the town did not just rename itself Baldelli, R.I., and be done with it.
Baldelli walked past the chattering without lifting an eyebrow.
"He's so unassuming and not cocky that it's like people try to provoke him," designated hitter Al Martin said. "He really takes a lot of abuse. But it's all in fun. It's all good. It's just because he's so level-headed.
"I get on him for anything and everything. His car, his clothes. I'll get on him for getting a drink from the fridge. You really can't find anything wrong with him, so you have to make up stuff. I love the kid. Rocco is special. He's very special."
This is why Martin tracked Baldelli down when Sunday's lineup was posted in the clubhouse. The day before, it seems, Baldelli had been teasing Aubrey Huff about his defense. Warning him that Piniella soon would come to the realization that, as a rightfielder, Huff made a good designated hitter.
The next day, Huff was in the lineup as the DH.
Martin was on the bench.
"I blame Baldelli for this," Martin shouted, walking through the clubhouse. "Where is Baldelli? I want Baldelli."
Wait your turn, Al.
We've got him first.