Run, Seaver, Run

As spring comes again and ballplayers drop from the palm trees, the fan is sitting pretty. He can suck in the juice and spit out the seeds without a worry in the world. Not so the player. He must prove that he has it, or, like the Mets' comeback-bent righthander, can find it before easing up in the shade of a batting cage, as does Bob Robertson of the Pirates. For more intimations of spring and some pepper with Ron Fimrite, turn the page.

And spring is a Yankee kick in Dixie, where mustaches in St. Pete and kids glorying it up in Clear water get closer to the players than anywhere else

Three ways to beat the ground rules: the dugout reach, the sneak preview and the plea behind a wire screen.

EIGHT PHOTOS

WALTER IOOSS JR.