But I got a guy on third, I was in a jam the other day in a game, all those situations, when you need a strikeout there, in big spots. But we are very aware of that fact, that these guys put the ball in play.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
If there's a runner on third with less than two outs, I clearly do not want to strike out.
If an umpire misses a called third strike and the other side ends up scoring because of it, I'm not going to forget it. If there are runners on second and third and two out, and if the umpire has just given the hitter an extra strike and the next pitch goes into the hole and both runs score, I've got to say something to the guy.
Your goal as a hitter is to get on. And if the third baseman is playing back and letting you lay down a bunt, I don't have a problem with that, even if it's late in a no-hitter.
I used to be a pretty good hit-and-run man when I played in the minors. I handled the bat well and could hit the ball to the right side of the infield. Nevertheless, I know that you often give the opposition an out on the hit-and-run play.
It must be nice for today's hitters when you don't have to worry about being thrown at. It's a whole different deal. When I played, getting knocked down was an accepted part of the game.
I hate striking out, but at the same time, I'm much better at letting them go rather than, earlier in my career, worrying about it so much before the next at-bat against the guy. You grow as you play, and every year, I work to cut them down.
You get to the big leagues, and you think, 'Can I do this stuff?' Then you take the first pitch down the middle for Strike 1, and you think, 'I could have hit that.'
I might have a great game hitting, but if I'm not having a great game fielding, if I feel like I let a guy get an extra base that I could have stopped, that's something I've got to do better, got to get better at.
Boys, I'm one of those umpires that misses 'em every once in a while so if it's close, you'd better hit it.
I was never a strikeout pitcher. Why should I throw eight or nine balls to get a man out when I got away with three or four?