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My pitching philosophy is simple - keep the ball way from the bat.

Obviously, a lot of things play on your mind when you're batting. This might happen and this might not. The best thing you can do when you're batting is not to think too much, and wait for the next ball.

Fix your eye on the ball from the moment the pitcher holds it in his glove. Follow it as he throws to the plate and stay with it until the play is completed. Action takes place only where the ball goes.

You get to the plate and nothing is going through your mind. You see the ball, you see the seams.

I don't like to sound egotistical, but every time I stepped up to the plate with a bat in my hands, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the pitcher.

In my own case I have frequently faced the pitcher when I had no desire whatever to hit. I wanted to get a base on balls.

There are certain things I can't do, certain pitches I can't hit. You stay away from them. You try to wait for pitches you can hit. The bat speed isn't what it used to be. You make up for it by using your head, working counts, getting ahead in counts and getting pitches to hit and hitting them hard.

It's not just what you do on the pitch, it's what you do off the pitch.

When I hit, I felt I was in control of the home-plate area, and it was important that I felt that way. If I let the pitcher control it, it would give him an advantage.

If a pitcher sees you fiddling with the bat, he'll stall until your arms are tired before you even get a chance to hit.