When I entered the pros, I was a young kid in the major leagues. I was 18 years old, right out of high school. I thought I knew everything, and I clearly didn't.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I started playing ball when I was a kid. My dad was a pro ball player and he passed on his knowledge to me.
I think sometimes you just need to play in this league. As a rookie coming out of college, you don't understand the real significance of being a pro unless you're playing other pros. It doesn't help you to play sporadically here or there.
But I was so wrapped up in sports growing up as a kid, that I think I was going to grow to be a pro ball player. But I found out real quick that was not going to happen.
I got into pro ball at 18 and played until I was almost 39, non-stop.
I had 12 years under my belt of baseball at the amateur level before I got to the big leagues.
I was a professional baseball player from the time I was drafted out of high school in 1981 until the time I retired in 2003.
I started playing football young, and my career was on the pitch.
My first year of pro ball I played in the Northwest league and made the all-star team, and the next year I played I led the team in hitting and was third or fifth in the league.
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 wanted to be a pro athlete. I knew that.
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