Most people who come into contact with Elaine Apfelbaum find out quickly she is a diehard New York Yankees fan. It comes as no surprise that the New City resident, who had held season tickets since 1996, recently attended the third annual New York Yankees Women’s Mini Fantasy Camp in Tampa.
Apfelbaum said the camp was a special present.
“I actually was going as a 50th birthday gift to myself,” she said adding a friend from Westchester joined her.
Apfelbaum said the recent start of spring training brought a flood of emotions from her January trip, “feeling a sense of disbelief that I actually sat in that dugout or wondering who was using ‘my locker’ in the clubhouse, the awe that I played on Steinbrenner field and hit in the same batting cages. I don’t think there are many people that can say that. What an experience.”
She relished every moment of the four-day program and the chance to as she put it, live the “Yankee Dream.”
Apfelbaum said she formed great friendships with her teammates and the players. She met and played with David Wells, Mickey Rivers, Bucky Dent and others. She was on Well’s team, “The Bats.”
“They were absolutely fabulous,” she recalled. “They all have great stories and they’re lots of fun.”
Apfelbaum, who is a senior recreation supervisor with the Town of Clarkstown’s Recreation & Parks Department, said the players were all down to earth and obliging when it came to autographs and photos.
The longtime fan said just one event would top her remarkable time in Tampa.
“The only thing that would top that is an invitation to spend a day with the Yankees on the field at Yankee Stadium,” Apfelbaum said. “That would be the icing on my cake.”
