TAMPA, Fla. -- With the Grapefruit League opener hours away, the Yankees dropped their bats and gloves early on Friday afternoon, taking on a few rounds of hypnosis as part of their annual team-building exercise.

Ricky Kalmon, a mindset expert and motivational speaker, conducted exercises with the team’s players, coaches, field staff and members of the front-office baseball operations department in the Dugout Club at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

“The guys had a lot of fun,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “It’s amazing to see the power of the human mind at work. A day like today is a welcome opportunity for guys to see their teammates in a different setting. Ricky was great. He has a fun personality that taps into the mind’s potential. It led to a very engaging afternoon for all of us.”

Boone said that he selected the activity with the help of Chad Bohling, the club’s director of mental conditioning. The team-building exercises have been a staple at Yankees Spring Training dating to 2009, when players bonded with an off-site billiards tournament.