And I'd be lying if I told you that as a black man in baseball I hadn't gone through worse times than my teammates.

If you destroyed the underpinnings of this great American sport, you are a hated, ugly, detestable person.

I'd often wondered what would I do if I were ever traded, because it happened many, many times.

Whatever I contributed to the unique morale of the Cardinals was part of this growth, and so, of course, was my decision to have it out in public with the owners of organized baseball.

I was told by the general manager that a white player had received a higher raise than me. Because white people required more money to live than black people. That is why I wasn't going to get a raise.

Everybody thinks of baseball as a sacred cow. When you have the nerve to challenge it, people look down their noses at you. There are a lot of things wrong with a lot of industries....baseball is one of them.

I lost money, coaching jobs, a shot at the Hall of Fame.