BERT BLYLEVEN

My dad introduced me to baseball. Then one of my friends asked if I could play on a team; my dad said I could, and I just fell in love with the game.

I know I've got a lock on the Dutch Hall of Fame.

Your goal as a hitter is to get on. And if the third baseman is playing back and letting you lay down a bunt, I don't have a problem with that, even if it's late in a no-hitter.

I love baseball. I love watching baseball. As a broadcaster, I get to watch the best 700 players put on the uniform year after year. That, to me, is exciting.

I really like Kansas City Royals stadium - Kauffman Stadium.

I'm from Southern California, so I feel much more comfortable with a golf club in my hand than I do a weapon.

I knew that I wasn't a first-ballot Hall-of-Fame inductee.

The best thing about the New Year is your 4.90 ERA disappears and starts back at zero.

The 16 years have gone so fast. I came to Minnesota as a 19-year-old kid. Marv Grissom was the pitching coach, an old-timer who taught me quite a bit. Marv didn't like the way I stepped toward the plate. I had a tendency to throw across my body. So, he took me off to the side at Met Stadium and put a chair on the mound. If I threw across my body, I would step on the chair. Marv was trying to hurt me. I fooled him. I started stepping the right way.

The problem with being Comeback Player of the Year is it means you have to go somewhere before you can come back.

I really like Kansas City Royals stadium - Kauffman Stadium.

Your goal as a hitter is to get on. And if the third baseman is playing back and letting you lay down a bunt, I don't have a problem with that, even if it's late in a no-hitter.

I'm from Southern California, so I feel much more comfortable with a golf club in my hand than I do a weapon.

My dad introduced me to baseball. Then one of my friends asked if I could play on a team; my dad said I could, and I just fell in love with the game.

When you're not at the top of your game and you feel like the other team is laughing and embarrassing you by doing certain things, it's time to retaliate.

I'm probably one of the few people that liked 'Water World' with Kevin Costner.

I love baseball. I love watching baseball. As a broadcaster, I get to watch the best 700 players put on the uniform year after year. That, to me, is exciting.

I knew that I wasn't a first-ballot Hall-of-Fame inductee.

I want to stay around longer than the pitchers who were at the top when I came into the big leagues. I don't want to be gone and have all the old guys - Seaver, Carlton, Ryan and Sutton - still pitching. I got rid of Palmer, now I want to outlast the rest of them.

I know I've got a lock on the Dutch Hall of Fame.

One curve I'll always remember was when I was pitching for Pittsburgh. Terry Kennedy was a young player with St. Louis. I threw him an 0-2 curve and it snapped. Terry's reaction was to swing straight down, like he was chopping the plate with an axe. It was the last out of the inning. After I ran off the mound, I looked over at the St. Louis dugout. There were players rolling around on the floor, laughing. Poor Terry. I'll have to admit that was a hell of a curveball.

The best thing about the New Year is your 4.90 ERA disappears and starts back at zero.

Getting into the Hall of Fame won't change me. I'm still going to pass gas and pick my nose like I always do.

The problem with being Comeback Player of the Year is it means you have to go somewhere before you can come back.

The 16 years have gone so fast. I came to Minnesota as a 19-year-old kid. Marv Grissom was the pitching coach, an old-timer who taught me quite a bit. Marv didn't like the way I stepped toward the plate. I had a tendency to throw across my body. So, he took me off to the side at Met Stadium and put a chair on the mound. If I threw across my body, I would step on the chair. Marv was trying to hurt me. I fooled him. I started stepping the right way.