© Aristide Economopoulos | The Star-Ledger SL/nj.com/TNS Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter's glove and hat rests on the first step of the dugout while his team is up at bat. It is now the last month of his career. The New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium in Major League Baseball game action. Tuesday August 19, 2014. Bronx, NY, USA.

Almost half of his life ago, Adam Unger dreamed of someday playing second base for the Yankees when they drafted the 5-foot-8 switch-hitter in the 29th round in 2003.

The Great Neck, N.Y., native’s best skill by then probably was his singing voice, which he showed off to entertain teammates during bus rides during his one season of rookie ball playing in Tampa for the Gulf Coast League Yankees.

Still is.

After quitting baseball and then finding work in a law firm, Unger discovered he had a special talent, and at age 34, his new dream is performing at Metropolitan Opera House, which could be called the Yankee Stadium of opera.

Unger might be on his way, as he made his operatic debut last week performing in a benefit concert in Manhattan, as he played Count Monterone in “Rigoletto” at The Box.

Watch the video above to watch and hear Unger’s singing talent in a recent performance.

In a way, Unger still feels like an athlete while performing.

“Opera is actually quite athletic to sing it,” Unger recently told the New York Post. “It’s like hitting a ball 400 feet. Everything’s got to be coordinated really well. You’ve got to use your body, you’ve got to use everything to create that sound that’s going to carry over an orchestra.

“So it’s really like a combination of an athletic skill and an artistic skill at the same time. So it really fascinated me as someone who was a professional athlete.”

Unger’s pro baseball career didn’t even last a full calendar year.

Unger hit just .083 in nine games in 2003 for the GCL Yankees playing with future big leaguers such as pitchers Tyler Clippard and Sean Henn, then was released after 2004 spring training. He promptly signed with the Colorado Rockies, but never got out of extended spring training that year.

Realizing baseball wasn’t going to work out, Unger gave up the sport to attend Queens College. That’s where he started singing opera, but his dream then was to become a lawyer, so he went from Queens to attending law school at Hofstra initially and then Penn.

After graduating in 2015, Unger found work at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison firm in New York. While employed there, he did some karaoke singing with clients, and that made him realize he had another dream that never had been fully explored.

Last year, the former Yankees minor leaguer opted to give opera signing a shot after he fared well during an opportunity to perform with Luciano Pavarotti’s pianist.

Unger still is dreaming of making it big in opera, and if he succeeds, his brief career in baseball will have helped.

“Not making it to the major leagues … you learn lessons from failing,” Unger said. "You learn how to dream. How to think about that dream from the time you’re 5 years old to the time you’re 20 years old and accomplish that dream. But then what happens when that dream is taken away from you or not fulfilled? Where do you go from there?

“It’s been a real comeback story for me, I was kind of a smaller player, only 5-foot-8, and was kind of an underdog to even make the minor leagues or professional baseball, but I did it. Now I feel like I’m doing the same thing with opera.”

Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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