WASHINGTON _ Opening Day is always special, but the Miami Marlins' on Monday was a little more so for bullpen coach Dean Treanor.
Treanor has lived a life that could be a movie: a California guy who saw his pro career as a pitcher flame out before it really began ... who became a cop and then an undercover cop and then a detective for his hometown police department ... who decided on a mid-life career change and went back to baseball ... who coached in the minor leagues for 29 years. That's longer than half the Marlins' roster has been alive.
Now, at 69, Treanor is in the big leagues for the first time.
"An emotional day," Treanor said of the season opener. "I thought about a lot of things _ about the journey, (being in) the nation's capital, the ceremony, the flyover ... and all the people I have to thank."
Treanor stands 5 feet 10, slim and clean shaven. He speaks with a deep, steady, grizzled voice and swears about as often as you'd expect of a former cop who spent a generation in minor league baseball.
And his path to The Show is as unusual as any you'll find.
