NEW YORK _ Yankees reliever Chasen Shreve called to wish a friend in Las Vegas a happy birthday on Saturday, when he learned the man would be attending the Route 91 Harvest festival.
"He's the first person I thought of when I woke up and saw it," Shreve said of awakening Monday to the news about the deadliest mass murder in modern U.S. history.
Shreve, who lives about a half-hour drive from the Las Vegas Strip, had about 10 friends at the outdoor concert on Sunday night.
"Nobody was hurt, thankfully," Shreve said of his friends. "But it's awful."
Shreve said he was awakened Monday morning at 8 a.m. by a phone call from his girlfriend, informing him of the news.
"I've been scrolling through social media all day to see if everyone's OK," Shreve said. "One of my friends said that she was right there when the people next to her actually got hit. They were all right there."
Shreve has attended the same concert in the past, as a minor-league player, and recalled telling the friend who was celebrating a birthday there to "have fun, man. It's a great time.
"It's a three-day concert. All my friends love country music," said Shreve, who grew up in Las Vegas and played at the College of Southern Nevada, where his teammate was Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper.
"I don't think I have digested it yet," Shreve said. "You never want that to happen anywhere, but it's my hometown, it hurts a little bit more."
Shreve spoke after the Yankees held a workout prior to Tuesday night's Al wild-card game against Minnesota. The lefty isn't assured of being on the playoff roster, but "once I step on the field, I just have to worry about the game. I can't do anything from here, anyway.
"Just worry about the game and just talk on the phone to my family and everybody back home."
