People I look to: again, Hank Aaron, man you challenged the status quo and the records of the game. Monumental feats in an era where people didn't like that.

I went to jail. I looked like one of those savings-and-loan guys leaving the jail house.

These days baseball is different. You come to Spring Training, you get your legs ready, you arms loose, your agents ready your lawyer lined up.

I've experienced a lot of things in baseball, but I've never been traded during a strike. At least I know I'll be in a new uniform the next time I put one on.

Everybody faces obstacles. And I looked to people who had been through many to succeed in life. Abraham Lincoln, born to a poor family, faced defeat through most of his life. Lost eight elections, failed two businesses, had a nervous breakdown, and still became president.

Tom Cruise only makes one or two film appearances a year. A baseball player can be the hero or the goat one-hundred and sixty-two times a year.

And then 45 years later, as I finished my career in the great city of Cleveland, that was another great way to end my career, going to the World Series.