Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/804369
32 PLAY BALL BAY AREA NEWS GROUP D enardSpanhadbeenonhis own since he was 18 years old. Last summer, for the firs t t ime in hi s l ife, he fe lt lo nely . He'd get back to his apart - ment near AT&T Park after night games too late to call or text his mother or his friends in Tampa. He was supposed to get married the previous winter, but a 10-year relationship had fallen apart. Some days, his most social activity was tipping the takeout delivery person. Long homestands felt like extended road trips. Even on the field, in his first season with the Giants, he couldn't be a full representation of himself. It wasn't until the second half that he appeared fully recovered from hip surgery and was back to chasing down fly balls in center field at full gallop. Now Span, 33, is a year older but feels so much younger — both in body and spirit. And loneliness is the least of his worries. An unexpected romance blossomed last year between himself and another professional athlete, Anne Schleper, who won an Olympic silver medal with the U.S. hockey team. They surprised even them - selves when they got engaged and married over the course of one offseason. She's one of the world's best on ice. Span tells us how she melted his heart. You'dneverplayedforaWest Coast team until last season. How hard was that adjustment? At the beginning of the season, it was a little difficult. I was used to coming home after games and talking to my mother or talking to somebody, anybody, from back home. A text message, something. Now I come home after a night game and … nobody. There's no -