There is a special sensation in getting good wood on the ball and driving a double down the left-field line as the crowd in the ballpark rises to its feet and cheers. But, I also remember how much fun I had as a skinny barefoot kid hitting a tennis ball with a broomstick on a quiet, dusty street in Panama.
I get a kick out of watching a team defense me. A player moves two steps in one direction and I hit it two steps the other way. It goes right by his glove and I laugh.
Hitting is an art, but not an exact science.
My job has usually been to get on base so others can drive me in.
To me, I was just doing my job when I took the field, but to understand how close I came to death, I now realize what God has given me when he brought me into this world; he knew what he was doing.
When I was 11, I spent eight months in the hospital with rheumatic fever and almost died.
Every time I come back to the Twin Cities, I feel like I'm coming back home.
I never liked talking about myself or my background because I hated bringing back bad memories. And sometimes when I talked, it would come out the wrong way, and I'd look like a jerk. That's why I became an enigma to people.
Tell your friends to get their hearts checked.
If you didn't know Fred Claire, you didn't know anyone.
Your first hit in the majors - that's tops. It means you're on your way. When you get the first hit, then you can get the rest.
Harmon Killebrew was a gem. I can never thank him enough for all I learned from him. He was a consummate professional who treated everyone from the brashest of rookies to the groundskeepers to the ushers in the stadium with the utmost of respect.
Three thousand hits is something that should stand for itself.
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My daughter told me, 'Daddy, if I don't make it, I don't want you to stop helping these other kids.' So that's where I've been able to go on. I tell people - and I really believe this - I didn't lose a daughter; I gained so many other kids.
I always felt like I was healthy; I never felt like anything was wrong with me. Until the morning that I had a massive heart attack. On the golf course, by myself.
I go back to when my youngest daughter was dying. I never asked my Friend Upstairs, 'Why me?' And He's the only one who has the answers.
I think the Angels could use me the most. The Angels don't have a day-to-day first baseman.
Get your heart checked. I've always looked at myself as healthy, but I wasn't.
Back when I first came up with the Twins as a second baseman, Billy worked with me on my fielding, on playing the game, on being heads-up, hustling, always doing my best, not alibiing. And when he was the Twins' manager, I enjoyed playing for him.
