A major league pitching coach is a really difficult job. It takes a big commitment in terms of time, travel and workload.
We charted individual pitches by hand, so I had that data from game to game, but from year to year, I didn't really have that data, because a lot of times it was discarded.
Clemens, Seaver, Gibson, Maddux - I just don't see myself in that category. I'm flattered that maybe it's debatable at this point.
I like to think of the world's greatest athlete coming up to bat against me - Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, I don't care who it is - and I'm looking at him thinking, you have no chance.
I was a professional baseball player from the time I was drafted out of high school in 1981 until the time I retired in 2003.
I think I rushed and I needed more time with my comeback. I needed more time to get my legs stronger to be able to handle the workload. You can only train for that by pitching innings. You can't simulate pitching off a mound in a game inside a weight room.
I guess it kind of stemmed from my father. He was a union guy working for the meat plant down in Kansas City. He was a union guy, and I guess it was just in my blood.
