One of the hardest parts of practice is the criticism a player takes from his coaches. Some players think a coach has it in for them when a flaw in style is pointed out ... I know that when things start going wrong, for one, I get the coach to keep his eye on me to see what I'm suddenly doing wrong. I can't see it or I wouldn't be doing it in the first place.

Never assume the other guy will never do something you would never do.

Youngsters of Little League can survive undercoaching a lot better than overcoaching.

What's tough is being good every day.

Baseball is a game, yes. It is also a business. But what is most truly is is disguised combat. For all its gentility, its almost leisurely pace, baseball is violence under wraps.

If you can do that - if you run, hit, run the bases, hit with power, field, throw and do all other things that are part of the game - then you're a good ballplayer.

I remember the last season I played. I went home after a ballgame one day, lay down on my bed, and tears came to my eyes. How can you explain that? It's like crying for your mother after she's gone. You cry because you love her. I cried, I guess, because I loved baseball, and I knew I had to leave it.