I knew when my career was over. In 1965 my baseball card came out with no picture.
They broke it to me gently. The manager came up to me before a game and told me they didn’t allow visitors in the clubhouse.
I had a .200 lifetime batting average in the major leagues, which tied me with another sports great averaging 200 or better for a ten-year period: Don Carter, one of our top bowlers.
When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team’s dugout and they were already in street clothes.
The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up.
I just grew the hair on my back. Facial hair just wasn’t appealing to me. I liked it on my back, though.
Phil Niekro and his brother were pitching against each other in Atlanta. Their parents were sitting right behind home plate. I saw their folks more that day than they did the whole weekend.
I set records that will never be equaled. In fact, I hope 90% of them don’t even get printed.
I think my top salary was maybe in 1966. I made $17,000 and 11 of that came from selling other players’ equipment.
I signed a very modest $3,000 bonus with the Braves in Milwaukee. And my old man didn’t have that kinda money to put out.
I had a great shoe contract and glove contract with a company who paid me a lot of money never to be seen using their stuff.
I spent three of the best years of my life in 10th grade.
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