The arc of Ken Griffey Jr.'s swing has gotten bigger than when he hit line drives. Juan Gonzalez is a terrific power hitter, too.
It's a sensitive thing, playing major league baseball.
You can't put a price on what Mark McGwire brings to the Cardinals organization. The responsibility he accepts is as great as any number of home runs.
My mind is just a product of 50 years of being taught. I'm no smarter than anyone else, but I've been taught by some wonderful people.
I don't miss being in the dugout - I'll make that clear.
In the end, as a manager or coach, you have to keep your heart pure and do your best as a manager or a coach.
To me, there is no more conscientious umpire in the Major Leagues than Jim Joyce. He gives you a hellacious effort every time.
We're all men, not machines. We make mistakes.
I'm not going to manage again. I'm going to work for a team someday. But it won't be managing.
If the national government doesn't fix your problem, you've got a problem. You've got to fix it yourself. That's just part of the American way.
It's easy to figure out whether you're getting stale. All you've got to do is look in the mirror and be honest with yourself.
Just because you're down to your last strike, you're not out yet. You can always do more. You'll always have more at-bats to take. That's true in baseball, in rescuing animals, and in life, generally.
My wife and I, we started a foundation about companion animal rescue, but there's a group called Performing Animal Welfare Society just outside of Sacramento... and they offered me a job as an elephant keeper.
You know, I think when you coach or you manage, you make decisions, and there's some that are really, really tough.
There's a bigger difference now than when I first got into professional baseball because that was before guaranteed contracts, before there was a lot of money, so it was mostly survival. You had more competition.
You can't manage by memo. You can't stand up there and just send out edicts. I think you just gotta really personalize your relationships.
Winning in Oakland in '89 was distinguished because that was truly a great team on a mission to prove that '88 was not what we represented. I look at that team in awe. It was a push-button team.
I can only think of about four players who I do not have anywhere from a good to a great relationship with.
Ever since I managed with guaranteed contracts and all the media, you know, you can get distracted by fame and fortune. Your values can get distorted. And the way you break through is, you just keep it personal and keep it simple and basic.
You've got to acknowledge what you did wrong and see if you can fix it to the extent possible, and turn the page.
