At the minor-league and major-league level, you know how important your coaching staff is, but in a big market it becomes absolutely huge.
That's how easy baseball was for me. I'm not trying to brag or anything, but I had the knowledge before I became a professional baseball player to do all these things and know what each guy would hit.
I don't believe there's a baseball job that I couldn't take care of.
I was a ballplayer, but only for a limited time. I grew up playing in Wisconsin. It's a very sports-centric part of the country that I grew up in and I played a lot of sports, but baseball first and foremost. I played through high school. I was a middle-infielder.
I'm now the hitting the instructor with the Cleveland Indians.
I like teaching. I would like to help out with the young catchers; be there for them and obviously, you know, what it takes to get here. That's the biggest thing, I think.
Nolan Ryan helped me with baseball, and my dad passing away gave me a bigger heart.
I always loved music, I just never thought of it as a career. Baseball was always my thing.
I had the pleasure, as Robin said, to live a childhood dream as many young Americans and Puerto Rican children live that play youth baseball. And I feel honored and very thankful for that opportunity.
It used to be that the hardest thing to cover was underthrown balls. Then coaches began to think, 'So why not start throwing back-shoulder fades?'
My dad was a really big baseball guy who helped coach me and thought the game should be played the right way.
You never really know baseball until you put on a pair of cleats and get out and play it; and if you play for five years, you still don't really know what it's about.
I was in the American League for 16, 17 years, and I think it's a really tough league to compete in.
It took him 75 steps to get from third to home. I thought we were going to have to go out there and help him. A lot of players start thinking double then maybe wind up with a triple because the outfielder slips.
I was a good athlete, a good baseball player. A great baseball player, I should say.
I've had a good time here in baseball. I love baseball. That's why I'm still around.
I'm an expert in baseball and I don't even have a job. I'm an expert, more so than a lot of people out there. It should be my career until I'm dead. I should be one of the instructors. I think I've earned it.
If I can make a kid smile playing baseball, that's pretty awesome.
I don't want to be a Major League coach.
It wasn't until Joe Maddon called me in 2006 when I thought about pursuing a coaching career.
I played baseball growing up, second base, and then when I got to high school, it just didn't exist there.
Give me 10 high school pitchers, let me spend a week with them, and I'll show you 10 pitchers who won't balk. It's not that difficult, and they better learn it.
High school baseball is a passion of mine.
When I was a minor league player, my goal was to be a major leaguer. It's no different as a minor league manager.
The only thing Earl (Weaver) knows about big-league pitching is that he couldn't hit it.
