"We had an oar with us. He tried to get on the boat, and we hit him off. That was pretty freaky."
During off time from Spring Training, more and more members of the New York Mets are spending their free hours fishing around the team’s practice facility. "It’s relaxing, and it kills time," reliever Bobby Parnell said. "It’s Port St. Lucie. It’s about the only thing there is to do."
But some have encountered local wildlife too. Ike Davis, first baseman and one of the team’s most avid anglers, recalled a close encounter. Once, while playing for the St. Lucie Mets, Davis and infielder Reese Havens were climbing out of their two-man boat when they were confronted on the bank by a water moccasin, a venomous snake. "He wasn’t backing off, and he started coming at us," Davis said. "We had an oar with us. He tried to get on the boat, and we hit him off. That was pretty freaky."
Full story at the New York Times.