Managers don't have as much leverage as they used to have. We can't really be the boss.

If the guys on the bench were as good as the guys you have out there, they'd be out there in first place.

But I'm not going to walk Barry Bonds, like some teams do, in the first inning with nobody on.

Managers don't have as much leverage as they used to have. We can't really be the boss.

The baselines belongs to the runner, and whenever I was running the bases, I always slid hard. I wanted infielders to have that instant's hesitation about coming across the bag at second or about standing in there awaiting a throw to make a tag. There are only 27 outs in a ballgame, and it was my job to save one for my team every time I possibly could.

Pitchers did me a favor when they knocked me down. It made me more determined. I wouldn't let that pitcher get me out. They say you can't hit if you're on your back, but I didn't hit on my back. I got up.

Listen, I was the first black manager in baseball and there was incredible pressure. I don't blame anyone else. I was too tough . . . I lack patience. I probably got on guys a little too hard, with the wrong tone of voice.