To All The Kids Out There: Follow

I Told Myself That If I Ever Make It To The Big Leagues That I Would Be The One To Appreciate The Fans. Take A Little Time Out To Sign Autographs And Shake Their Hands And Say Hello To Them.

Listen: People Are Always Saying, 'rickey Says Rickey.' But It's Been Blown Way Out Of Proportion. People Might Catch Me, When They Know I'm Ticked Off, Saying, 'rickey, What The Heck Are You Doing, Rickey?' They Say, 'darn, Rickey, What Are You Saying Rickey For? Why Don't You Just Say, 'i?' But I Never Did. I Always Said, 'rickey,' And It Become Something For People To Joke About.

I Don't Think Some Of The Players Understand What The People Are About. The People Are Coming Out To Show You Their Appreciation Of The Game, And The Player That You Are.

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 Don't Think I Ever Got Proper Credit About Being Smart About The Game.