Three hours for an average game is not good for baseball.
Who cares how many miles per hour the ball traveled once it left the bat, or how high the ball traveled in degrees, or how many seconds it took to leave the ballpark?
I went through a lot of hard times. I went through a lot of struggle. A few times, I was in tears. It brought me to my knees just about.
I had great moments. I had not-great moments.
I don't believe in playing just one sport. I believe it results in burnout, and each sport trains your body in a different way.
I played football in the fall when I was in high school. Then basketball, a different conditioning - you're running up and down the courts. Then you come into baseball, you're doing a sprint to hit a triple.
The great thing about Little League was that anyone could play it.
In New York, I have a photo of my parents on their wedding day in 1947. They're beaming at home plate in Houston's Buffalo Stadium. I love the photo because my dad is smiling. He didn't smile much in his later years.
When I was little, my older brother, Gary, was forced to read a book a week in fourth grade. The books he liked he threw on my bed when he was finished with them. This continued throughout my childhood and made me a reader for life.
I am a human being. I have anxiety. I have doubts. And I'm not afraid to put it out there.
I've been to Gettysburg probably more than half a dozen times.
I remember, as a kid, I couldn't wait to get my library card, get my first book. There was a sphinx on the cover, and I figured I was going to read about the Egyptians. But it was this archeology. It was so dry. But I forced myself to read it because it was my first book out of the library. Should have gotten a 'Hardy Boys.'
I always performed out of fear of failure - and that's a tough way to play. It was as if my back was to the wall and I was constantly surrounded by very dangerous people that were not friendly to me.
