Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
The writer of this Sun-Sentinel story really goes a long way with the whole Biltmore House motif, but I think you’ll get the point:
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – George Vanderbilt required a library large enough to display the dawn. That is, Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini’s rendition of it.
Three weeks before the Marlins’ first full-squad workout, Cameron Maybin’s gaze floated from the two-tiered walnut stacks to the ceiling. The 64-foot long, 32-foot wide canvas titled The Chariot of Aurora arrived from Venice in 13 pieces.
Maybin was seeing it for the first time. He last visited Biltmore — the palatial, 250-room Asheville landmark — during a first-grade field trip, but he doesn’t recall entering America’s largest privately owned home.
In the right light the canvas’ seams are visible. They don’t dull the sensation of peering into an open sky past the torch-bearing Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn, who trumpets the sun’s arrival.
Maybin’s task with the Marlins isn’t much different. He doesn’t have to illuminate the entire baseball world, just the part darkened when the Marlins traded Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. To acquire the remaining two players from the Marlins’ 2003 World Series championship, the Detroit Tigers parted with their two untouchable prospects, center fielder Maybin and left-hander Andrew Miller, and four others during a winter meetings blockbuster.
For a 20-year-old, Maybin is well equipped to help clear the cloud that formed over the fan base. His baseball skills command spectators’ stares, but it’s his makeup that prompts them to shield their eyes.
“Some kids swing the bat,” said Tom Smith, Maybin’s high school coach at T.C. Roberson. “Then you see Cameron Maybin swing the bat. The good Lord just blessed him… I just asked him, ‘How does it feel to show up and know you’re the best athlete on the field?’ He was just that special.”
