My Journey As A Player

Speeches And Me Don't Get Along Sometimes. It Is Kind Of Like Putting A Tie Too Tight On My Neck. I'm Going To Do Whatever Feels Right.

I Haven't Had The Time To Say, 'i'm Retiring.' But Baseball Says, 'you're Retired.'

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.

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.

When I Was Growing Up, My Favorite Player Was Reggie Jackson - And I Never Got The Opportunity To Get An Autograph From Reggie. I Was So Frustrated. I Mean, He Was My Idol. And I Couldn't Get No Autograph. I Would Go Through Punishment Waiting On Him (after Games) Because He Was Always The Last Guy To Come Out. And I Would Go Back Home With No Autograph.