I played high school football at a hundred and eighty-five pounds and played big league baseball at a hundred and eighty-two. I'd get up to maybe 188 in the off-season because every summer I'd lose eight to ten pounds.
My wife Margaret is the best thing that's ever happened to me.
Baseball wasn't easy for me.
My style is I work hard at it. I feel like I'm prepared every day.
If you're in the minor leagues, you want to get to the majors.
I've been proud to be a lifelong Chicago Cub and still be with the Cubs. That's always been important to me and I think it's always been special.
When we went home every winter, they warned us not to lift heavy weights because they didn't want us to lose flexibility. They wanted us to be baseball players, not only home run hitters.
If you played the game the right way, played the game for the team, good things would happen.
Football, I thought, would be a tough sport to make a living in. There is no minor league. You either make it to the NFL or you don't.
The Phillies liked the work I had done with the Cubs, and really wanted me there. They were on the phone as soon as my contract was up in Chicago, and it was just a great feeling to be wanted, to be appreciated for the work you do.
It was everyone going up there to swing for the fences, because the home runs were what would get them on 'SportsCenter.' That really changed the mindset of the players.
I learned a lot in the Minor Leagues, spending six years there. I honed my skills, as far as coaching goes. I was able to work with the players in a lot of facets of the game.
I think sometimes Hall of Famers might get labeled as guys who aren't suited for a coaching job or to be back at the Major League level.
There's not too many guys that spend their whole career with one team and I think it's very fortunate and a blessing for me.
I didn't play the game right because I saw a reward at the end of the tunnel.
Get your work in. Work hard at it. Give it your best effort. And if you get an opportunity, be ready for it. That's respect for the game.
I was taught coming up in the Phillies organization to be seen and not heard by people like Pete Rose, my hero growing up, and players like Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton and Manny Trillo.
I just appreciated so much the contract they gave me, and I wanted to give something back to the Cubs' organization.
I'm not thinking about records. Just winning the pennant would be exciting.
When I was a minor league player, my goal was to be a major leaguer. It's no different as a minor league manager.
In other ways, one way to be in a lineup or stay in a lineup or stay in a spot is to produce.
I knew nothing about managing when I started.
When I'm arguing, I'm competing. I'm trying to win a game. And if that's what's called for, it's just a reaction.
Your first responsibility is to the organization, to teach and prepare players to get to the big leagues and have them ready when they get there, but everyone in the minors wants to be in the majors.
If a hitter gets hot, I wouldn't take a hot hitter out of the lineup.
