I Like Playing For Oakland, They Have

When I Was A Little-leaguer, I Was Sort Of Famous For Stealing Bases - And It Started Only Because My Mom Wanted To Be Sure Where I Was In The Afternoons. Mom Always Used To Say, "if You Don't Come Home Dirty, You Didn't Play A Baseball Game." So I Always Tried To Get In A Situation Where I Had To Slide So That I Could Go Home Dirty.

It Gave Me No Chance. He (nolan Ryan) Just Blew It (strikeout #5,000) By Me. But Its An Honor. I'll Have Another Paragraph In All The Baseball Books. I'm Already In The Books Three Or Four Times.

A Good Friend Of Mine Took Me Out And Had Me Hit Off A Tee. He Made Me Understand What Was My Strike Zone And - With My Speed - The Importance Of Making Contact. So I Give Him A Lot Of Credit For Changing My Game And Making Me The Player I Became. He Showed Me How To Work On Me And My Game, And Not Worry About Patterning Myself After Someone Else And Focusing On What They Were Capable Of Doing Rather Than What I Was Capable Of Doing.

I Have To Play Baseball To Make Me Happy. I Have To Be An Athlete. But When It's All Said And Done, I'll Be A Normal Father. A Normal-type House Man.

The Only Thing I Wish I Could Figure Out Is How I Got Misunderstood Regarding The Type Of Person I Really Am And What I Accomplished.