Players sweating it out around majors

NEW YORK --Sure, it's hot out there. Stifling, in fact.

But it's been worse -- and Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons remembers all too well.

A couple of summers ago, a day-night doubleheader at Fenway Park.

"It was the hottest day I've ever been involved in baseball. You got two games, we lost the first one in like the ninth inning and then you're sitting in that small clubhouse waiting another four hours," Gibbons said Wednesday, roasting in the third-base dugout at Yankee Stadium with a towel wrapped around his neck.

"I think they ran out of water in Fenway Park. Paramedics were in the stands."

And the nightcap?

"We got pounded," he said. "Long day, just magnified."

No doubt, major leaguers get plenty of perks. But while everyone else is staying inside, turning up the air conditioner and doing whatever it takes to keep cool during this heat wave that's sweeping the country, ballplayers have to go out there and perform.

Just about every night -- and some afternoons, too.

The gametime temperature for Toronto's game in New York on Wednesday evening was a sweltering 97 degrees. Both teams cut batting practice a little short (the temperature was 106 on the field at 5 p.m.) and were taking all sorts of measures to remain hydrated and healthy.

They had cool mist fans running in the dugouts and ammonia towels at the ready. Trainers made sure players were drinking plenty of fluids and electrolytes.

"Whatever's available, from Gatorade to Powerade, even orange juice," Blue Jays assistant trainer Dave Abraham said. "The big guys kind of get dehydrated quicker than the little guys. We tell them to gulp it rather than sip it."

Abraham and Yankees assistant trainer Steve Donohue both said they'll have some players weigh in before and after the game to make sure they haven't melted away too many pounds in the heat.

It was much the same story in Baltimore, where the Orioles set up misting tents for fans during their day game against Seattle. Ushers sprayed fans with hand-held water bottles.

"Actually, we start a few days before we know the bad climate is coming," Orioles head trainer Richie Bancells said. "We pay attention every day to the weather, I get on the computer and look at the U.S. forecast. We warn the guys ahead of time to hydrate before going into the heat. That includes good nutrition, electrolyte drinks and water."

And if someone gets overcome by the hot weather?

"The first thing you do is get him out of the sun into an air-conditioned area," Bancells said. "We have a cold whirlpool in here. You have to cool him down as much as possible."

Abraham and Donohue said one sign of trouble is if a player is NOT sweating. That could be a symptom of heat stroke, which is particularly dangerous.

More common is cramping. Yankees slugger Jason Giambi left Tuesday night's game because his right leg cramped up. He was still feeling tight Wednesday.

The Yankees decreased use of their out-of-town scoreboard, video board and televisions in the stadium the past two nights to preserve energy.

In St. Louis, it was 101 degrees at new Busch Stadium when the Cardinals-Phillies game started.

The night before, Philadelphia rookie Scott Mathieson pitched five innings in nearly 100-degree heat.

"I went through five or six shirts and two hats out there. Every inning I changed it. I was just drenched," he said.

In Boston, temperatures that reached 100 degrees during the day Wednesday had cooled to 82 at game time. But the Red Sox were taking no chances.

They set up tables with free cups of water and "rain rooms," where fans could cool off. They also cut off beer sales an inning early.

"The hardest is concentration," Baltimore pitcher Erik Bedard said. "You've got to keep your concentration on the game and try not to think of the weather."

Still, most big leaguers weren't complaining.

"We get spoiled in this league, at this level, and we forget what it was like riding them buses in the South Atlantic League and being in those rinky-dink clubhouses," Gibbons said. "It was hot every day down there."

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AP Sports Writers R.B. Fallstrom in St. Louis, David Ginsburg in Baltimore and Jimmy Golen in Boston contributed to this report.