PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The time for caring had long passed. This was to be expected. It is spring training after all. Once the late innings had arrived on a Sunday afternoon here, the crowd had thinned out. Only the most obsessive could name the players on the field without the aid of a program. Jacob deGrom, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, made his first start of the spring. It was an uneventful inning. He went home. Now, the only compelling reason to linger was the warmth.



Yet, nine rows up from the field, in a seat located directly behind home plate, Brodie Van Wagenen leaned forward to see the pitch. In his right hand, he held a small black moleskine notebook, embossed on one side with the Mets’ “NY” logo. Last fall, upon leaving the powerful agency CAA to become general manager, Van Wagenen had the notebooks made and distributed to his lieutenants. In his left hand, he held a pen. Over and over, he flipped open the notebook and scribbled...