Going to be in New York City for the 1st time, and wondering if anybody has any tips for getting around on the subway system ?

We'll be going to 2 ballgames at Yankee stadium, these are night games. Want to make sure we can get a train back to the hotel if the game ends late, say at midnight.

I've been watching some youtube vids, plan on getting a 7 day metro card. Printed out a map of the subway routes and stations, and have a general idea of how the street numbering works
( streets run East to West, and increase in number as they go north, Avenues run North to South and increase in number as they go West ) once off the train and on the street we should have a basic ability to get around. I plan on bringing a compass and handheld gps, I use those a lot when out in the woods, not sure how good they'll work in the concrete canyons.

We'll be there 1 day before the night ballgames, so will have a chance to try the subway out beforehand. Plan on the usual sightseeing, Central Park, Financial District, Ground Zero,.....
so probably spending the vast majority of time in Manhattan.

As a maybe an odd quirk, I would like to jog Central Park, probably just a 5 mile run, and I assume this is a safe daytime activity ?