God blessed me by putting me here for thirty-one years at Michigan and Trumbull.

I had a job to do, and I did it all these years to the best of my ability. That's what I'd like to leave behind as I finish my final game in Toronto.

I deeply appreciate the people of Michigan. I love their grit. I love the way they face life. I love the family values they have.

Baseball is continuity. Pitch to pitch. Inning to inning. Season to season.

I look on life as a joyous adventure.

Baseball is just a game, as simple as a ball and bat, yet as complex as the American spirit it symbolizes. A sport, a business and sometimes almost even a religion.

Nicknames are baseball, names like Zeke and Pie and Kiki and Home Run and Cracker and Dizzy and Dazzy.