I play to lift a city, and raise a banner.
You don't need to have a perfect ending to be happy.
A lot of people probably say I'm stupid, and they're probably right, because there are people who take days off who are still in the league, and I'm not.
A lot of people probably think I'm not athletic or don't even try to work out or whatever, but I do. Just because you're big doesn't mean you can't be an athlete. And just because you work out doesn't mean you're going to have a 12-pack. I work out to make sure I can do my job to the best of my ability. Other than that, I'm not going up there trying to be a fitness model.
Obviously, I think this [162 games a year four times] caused my early retirement, but I couldn't do it any other way. Just for the record, I never asked for any of the days off in my career.
Just because you're big doesn't mean you can't be an athlete. And just because you work out doesn't mean you're going to have a 12-pack.
Coming up through high school, coaches would tell me not to swing so hard. It's the only way I know. It just happens.
If there's a man on second, I'm trying to get him in with a base hit. The doubles and homers will come. Sooner or later they'll go out naturally. I'm just trying not to do too much.
I have nothing left to prove. I've already done enough to my neck.
I miss playing baseball. Just being able to swing the bat, or run, or dive for a ball, or slide into second. If I could even do that in a softball league, I would never miss anything about baseball. I don't miss the crowds or the travel or even being in the big leagues. I just miss being able to take batting practice and being able to swing as hard as I can. That's all I miss.
It was pretty hard to actually have to say the words with my teammates, my wife and my boys there. I realized it was going to happen before that day [I announce retirement], but to have to announce it and talk about in front of a lot of people was tougher than I expected. I'm glad that feeling has kind of gone away. That sadness hasn't lingered.
I saw [ that I and my father, Cecil end our careers with 319 home runs] after I retired. It was just weird. With all the games we played, neither one of us could hit one more home run? Obviously, it was supposed to go that way. It's a pretty cool thing, I guess.
If I could even do that [playing] in a softball league, I would never miss anything about baseball.
I'm still working out. It keeps me feeling good about things.
I thought it might be a cool thing [food show] to do when I retired a few years later. Then retirement came slightly prematurely.
I miss the guys, and I miss playing baseball. Just being able to swing the bat, or run, or dive for a ball, or slide into second.
I guess you need days off, but I just didn't want them.
It's easier for me to accept that I can't play anymore because I literally gave it all I got. That allows me to be a little bit more at peace.
I'd like to help out in any way I can, especially with the younger guys in the minor leagues. But as far as setting something up, we haven't really talked about it.
Honestly, right now, I don't want to be around baseball. Not that I don't like it. But I'm having fun right here, hanging around my family and watching my kids' games.
Obviously I wasn't playing well at the time. But as a player, you lie to yourself. You say, "There's nothing wrong. I'm just not on time [at the plate]." You make something else up because pain is not an option.
Once I started getting multiple days off in a row, it was a long year for me. That had never happened, and everybody knew I didn't like it.
I'm just living a normal life - a regular life, as people would call it. I'm enjoying it.
It's nice to finally be able to wake up and tie my shoes without feeling like I'm about to tip over, or walk a straight line without feeling dizzy, or be able to feel my left arm. That means a lot more to me.
I'm not really in a hurry to ever wear a neck brace. That's why I'm kind of positive about it, because I'm healthy.
