My father was a San Francisco firefighter. He also was an amateur artist. Art ran deep on his side of the family, which originated in Spain. He painted our portraits. My mom, Jacqueline, was Scots-Irish. They met in 1947 when dad played for the Houston Buffalos, a minor league baseball team affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals.
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.'
Baseball began early for me. When I was 5, my father took two Little League bats and put them on a lathe. He whittled them down and sanded the bats so they were the proper size for my brother and me. He began by throwing tennis balls to us. Eventually, we practiced hitting and fielding at a field near our house.
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.
You never know what's going to happen the rest of the way. You can't predict. You don't know what Montreal is going to do to us this weekend, and you don't know what the Cubs are going to do to the Cardinals.
I'm pretty sure when I need a comma; I'm not so sure about a semicolon.
I'm just another guy who likes his job and doesn't like his commute.
I won't say that women belong in the kitchen, but they don't belong in the dugout.
I've been to Gettysburg probably more than half a dozen times.
I always got good grades in creative writing from elementary school on up.
I had great moments. I had not-great moments.
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.
Everyone has someone they looked up to. Mine was Mickey Mantle. For Alex Rodriguez to idolize me coming up, that makes me feel very good.
I have a natural tendency to resist conformity.
I didn't cost the Series. I cost a game in the regular season.
