I can't see why we can't toss in a Junior Walker or Wilson Pickett number in every once in a while.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I never thought I'd get a chance to sing with Wilson Pickett but we did.
Baseball people, and that includes myself, are slow to change and accept new ideas. I remember that it took years to persuade them to put numbers on uniforms.
If I had my career to play over, one thing I'd do differently is swing more. Those 1,200 walks I got, nobody remembers them.
In baseball, my theory is to strive for consistency, not to worry about the numbers. If you dwell on statistics you get shortsighted, if you aim for consistency, the numbers will be there at the end.
As a coach, they would love to sit there and say, 'It's going to be five steps, you're going to hitch up into a perfect pocket, you're going to look at number one - no; you're going to go to number two - no.' It doesn't work that way.
Being a track sprinter, when it's all about a thousandth of a second, there is no escaping the numbers every single day.
Why shouldn't we pitch to Babe Ruth? We pitch to better hitters in the National League.
It's nice to be number one on the call sheet.
There are only so many pitches in this old arm, and I don't believe in wasting them throwing to first base.
I think Mr. Wilson will have to be the rest of the way alone.