I kept giving up runs. It was, for sure, a rough road and a very rocky one. I enjoyed my time there, but not as much as I could have if I would have pitched well.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I loved being back out on the pitch. Although I have not been in full training, I felt pretty good.
I can't recall too much about pitching, but I do remember that I was anxious to get it over with. I just wanted to get that first game over with and go from there.
I remember one game when I pitched in Yankee Stadium and gave up five runs in the first inning. It would have been easy to quit, but I shut 'em out the rest of the way, and we came back and won the game.
I hated pitch meetings. Pitch meetings were my least favorite part of the week. I just gave up. I was so terrible at them.
Pitching... sometimes I did so poorly, it brought me to tears.
As soon as I got out there I felt a strange relationship with the pitcher's mound. It was as if I'd been born out there. Pitching just felt like the most natural thing in the world. Striking out batters was easy.
I think I rushed and I needed more time with my comeback. I needed more time to get my legs stronger to be able to handle the workload. You can only train for that by pitching innings. You can't simulate pitching off a mound in a game inside a weight room.
I was this guy who'd been racing around down there, on that field in 1999, running straight over people, scoring tries, winning games, having fun. And I ended up so sick I couldn't even run past a little baby.
I'm not running again. I will say this: It was a great experience. I loved it.
I pitched and I played the outfield.