I did not want to leave the Mets and I did not want to leave New York.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Only God knows why I didn't make it with the Mets, but yes, in a short period of time, I got the opportunity with the Phillies.
I said to myself I've got to go up there and do it because the New York Mets keep winning every day. The game was on the line and I wanted to go out there and come through for my team. That win tonight means a lot for us.
I knew that the Mets had never had a no-hitter. I never had one. This is very special. I knew this means a lot to New York.
Being a Mets fan is like lending someone a lot of money and you just know that you'll never get paid back.
I didn't make any friends in New York by insisting on moving the league headquarters to Cincinnati. The fact was that my son Bill was in school. His mother had passed away, and I didn't want to take the boy away from his school and to a strange city.
Me, personally, I was a Mets and Giants fan.
I hated the Yankees and Dodgers and wound up managing both.
The Mets have shown me more ways to lose than I even knew existed.
I feel it's the best thing that could have happened for me, leaving the Braves so I could go to another team that would give me more of a chance to play like with the Marlins.
I wanted to retire after I played for the Mets. My family said wait one year, that there was no need to rush it. I gave it a year and now it's time to say goodbye.