I've been proud to be a lifelong Chicago Cub and still be with the Cubs. That's always been important to me and I think it's always been special

I have great memories of being a Cub, and I'm happy building new ones with the Phillies.

A lot of people say this honor validates my career, but I didn't work hard for validation.

I was a baseball player at North Central High School in Spokane, Washington even though I was all-city in basketball, even when I signed a letter of intent to play quarterback at Washington State.

If this validates anything, it's that learning how to bunt and hit-and-run and turning two is more important than knowing where to find the little red light on the dugout camera.

It didn't happen, but I feel fortunate for the two chances we had and it's just a shame we didn't go to a World Series for Cub fans.

I got into pro ball at 18 and played until I was almost 39, non-stop.