Yanks’ Home Opener at the Eclipse Barber Shop

It’s Friday, April 13, and the Yankees are hosting the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for their first home game of the 2012 campaign. As 50,000-plus fans take their seats at the sparkling Yankee Stadium to see their heroes, dozens of fans do the same at the Eclipse Barber Shop, four stops north of the stadium on the “4” train. While those at Yankee Stadium are surrounded by a new park and some of the best views of the Bronx, those at the Eclipse Barber Shop are in a predominantly industrial strip of Jerome Avenue that has added barber shops, night clubs, and clothing stores in recent years.

As the Yankees’ home opener is set to begin, barbers and their clientele discuss their predictions for the 2012 season. While barber Osterman Cuevas thinks the Yankees will win 92 games, his fellow co-worker Guillermo Gonzalez feels they will win 99. However, others worry about other aspects of the Yankees. “I think the only pitcher who will thrive this year is Ivan Nova,” barber Rayson Lantigua, says. “As for the 2012 season itself, I feel the only reason why there’s a second wildcard in each league is so that Boston could get in,” Gonzalez adds.

After seeing ex-Yankee Jorge Posada deliver the ceremonial first pitch to his father, Lantigua says other Yankees will follow his footsteps. “Once his contract expires in 2017, Alex Rodriguez will turn into a vegetál, or a senior citizen,” Lantigua says. “They need to get the younger guys into the lineup.”

As the game begins, those at Eclipse worry about the performances of the two starters, Ervin Santana of the Angels and Hiroki Kuroda of the Yankees. “Ervin likes the fastball too much and Kuroda’s gonna be a one-hit wonder,” Alex Guzman says.

After Kuroda retires the side in order, the YES Network shows the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays being scoreless in the second inning. “I think Boston will come back to beat the Rays,” barber Edward Almonte says. “Bobby Valentine’s the maquinaria, or the man, to manage the Sox after that collapse last year.” However, Guzman feels otherwise about Boston’s expectations. “It seems like the whole city of Boston thinks they’re invincible after winning all of those championships,” Guzman says, in reference to the wins of the Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics in addition to the Red Sox’s two titles in 2004 and 2007. “We New Yorkers have always had their number.”

Those at Eclipse predicted big things after the bases were loaded in the bottom of the first inning. “Time to eat some salami Anaheim,” Almonte said. But it did not go in the way of the grand slam as Nick Swisher scored three runs on a triple to give New York a 3-0 lead.

Despite the lead, there was still some signs of worry at the barber shop, especially as Alex Rodriguez stepped to the plate in the bottom of the third inning. But the 37-year-old silenced any doubters as he hits an immediate home run to center field. During A-Rod’s home run trot, Elvis Paulino talks about the third baseman’s post-baseball aspirations. “I hope he buys a minor league baseball team so he could continue to feed the Yankees some future stars,” Paulino says.

After Robinson Cano hits another solo home run to give New York a 5-0 lead, the mood at Eclipse changes to one of confidence as starter Kuroda surpasses all of their expectations. He will eventually pitch eight innings of shutout baseball. During this time, the barbers spoke about their lives in the Dominican Republic prior to moving to the Bronx. “As barbers in the Dominican Republic, we had to sell everything, from perfume to beer,” Gonzalez and Lantigua say. “Even with that, we only made 7,000 Dominican pesos a week, which equals to about $179.20 American.” While Gonzalez speaks to a relative via webcam, he discusses his predictions for the upcoming Dominican presidential elections in May. “I just hope that things will get better for those back home,” he says.

After the Yankees close a 5-0 victory over the Angels, the Eclipse Barber Shop fills with ecstatic faces. “We’re going all the way to a 28th World Title!” several clients shout.