SPORTS FOLDEROL

  We caught up with  Aaron McGarity  at the airport in San Juan, Puerto  Rico, last week. He’s the right-hander from Richmond … whose uphill  battle to reach the major leagues continues in the face of roadblocks  that would convince most people to look for another line of work. So, what was McGarity doing in San Juan, of all places? To play  baseball, what else? “ They have a winter league than runs from November through January  … and this is the time when players under contract [with major-league  teams] usually leave to get ready for spring training … and they need  to patch holes with guys like me,” he said, adding, “and, if I can do  well …”  If nothing else, McGarity is persistent. Little more than a month  removed from his 29 th  birthday and almost two years following  Tommy John surgery, the Mills Godwin High School and Virginia  Tech alumnus refuses to give in. Signed by the New York Yankees in 201...

  While he has posted excellent numbers for AAA Scranton/Wilkes -- Barre,  Aaron McGarity  is a realist. The parent New York Yankees won’t be bringing him to the Big Apple any time soon. Possibly (probably?) never. You would think the pinstripes could use a pitcher who throws strikes in building a 6-2 record, with three saves (in five opportunities) and has finished 13 games. McGarity, a 6-3, 195-pound right-hander from  Richmond, has been used primarily in short relief and, except for  atypical outings against Norfolk and Worcester, Mass., he has been  virtually untouchable. Nevertheless, the Mills Godwin High (Class of 2013) and Virginia Tech alumnus finds himself with little to no chance of being called up.  Unlike five other members of the Rail Riders’ staff, McGarity is not a  member of New York’s 40-man roster … which means they are first in  line to be summoned. And no one in authority with the Yankees – or  any other MLB organiza...