By STEPHEN FRAGANO

COLUMNIST

As this is being written, the New York Yankees’ Spring Training record is 8-13 with their home record (games played at their training facility in Tampa, Fla) being 4-7. Their overall record is below the .500 mark, and their poor record when playing in front of their own fans is enough evidence for any baseball expert or tenacious Yankee-hater to deem this upcoming season a lost cause for the Bronx Bombers.

Fans more familiar with the practices of professional baseball teams usually know that teams rarely use their starting players in spring training games  and that this is the time of year that managers and coaches use to get a bearing on the skill level and dynamics of their teams and to figure out the best strategies to use during the regular season (but try telling those Mets fans that this is the reason).

The bottom line is that spring training means virtually nothing. The journey toward the World Series does not start until opening day. Timing is everything, and performing one’s best is what separates the “goods” from the “greats.”

Another sports-related example of great timing and making hard work count was the impressive season finale of the 2012 New York Giants. The team ended the season with a 9-7 record. That is not a terrible record, but it surely is not the kind of regular season record a football fan expects from the Super Bowl champions. The record was, however, good enough to get them a place in the playoffs as a wild card.

Once in the playoffs, the Giants certainly made every game count. They kept winning until the Lombardi trophy was theirs, and they only improved as the playoffs progressed, never looking back at what happened during the regular season.

This bit of good timing and clutch performance in the NFL is almost becoming a trend. This year’s Super Bowl champs, the Baltimore Ravens, followed the path of the Giants and entered the playoffs as the AFC Wild Card but ended up winning the championship.

Making it count in any field or any profession is frankly the best form of wiping the slate clean. Unfortunately, we live in a world whose mantra is not “What have you done for me?” but “What have you done for me lately?” Many past wrongs can be forgiven when people live up to the occasion, and unluckily, all of one’s triumphs can be thrown out the window in a single failure.

Yet, this idea of making it count is not only pertinent to professional athletes and other big-time professionals. Everyone can make his or her day, week, month or year count.

Are your midterm grades not as good as you would like them? Make this next half of the semester count. It is never too late to turn a habit around, and it is never too late to make something count.