Students take center stage at Harlem RBI

HARLEM, N.Y. — It may not be Citi Field or Yankee Stadium, but for a couple hours Friday afternoon, the epicenter of New York baseball was the Harlem R.B.I. baseball complex.

New York Mets Curtis Granderson and Eric Campbell, as well as a handful of Milwaukee Brewers — including Chris Capuano, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Zach Davies — joined together in Harlem on Friday with the students from the New York Center for Autism Charter School to teach, encourage and play with the children over an afternoon of baseball. The event, which is now in its fourth year, featured makeshift hitting, fielding and running drills run by the players, who traded their competitive edges for a mentality of fun — something that obviously showed through in their actions.

“It really does help your perspective doing it,” Capuano said. “It’s hard to be in a bad mood when you’re running and playing around with these kids. They’re just so happy. They really just show us what’s important.”

The afternoon began with a young girl named Violet throwing out the ceremonial first pitch after a couple of …

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