First impressions: Jason Giambi drew a crowd of reporters. Tino Martinez drew a standing ovation from the crowd. For each player, linked by a free-agent shuffle, opening day offered a taste of a whole new world. (Baseball).

Call it a glove triangle of first basemen. Jason Giambi was Mark McGwire's successor with the A's. Over the winter, Giambi replaced Tino Martinez with the Yankees. Martinez, in turn, replaced McGwire, who retired from the Cardinals.

As the 2002 season dawned, the Yankees and Cardinals were linked not just by their potent lineups, quality rotations and World Series expectations. They also were linked by their new first basemen, Giambi and Martinez, the central figures in an offseason free-agent shuffle.

Martinez, a vital part of four world championship clubs with the Yankees, signed with the Cardinals for three years and $21 million--or $99 million less ...