It's not what you achieve, it's what you overcome. That's what defines your career.
But this is the point I want to make: When you talk about steroids and you talk about what it means to the game, the three greatest home run hitters of all time-Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays, right? When they were 39 years old, how many home runs do you think they averaged? The three greatest home run hitters of all time averaged 18 home runs at age 39. Now, how many home runs did Barry Bonds hit when he was 39? He hit 73!
If the human body recognized agony and frustration, people would never run marathons, have babies, or play baseball.
It's funny. Some people remember that a lot more than I do. I remember certain parts of it, and if everybody who mentioned that to me had been to the game who said they were at the game, there'd be 800,000 people at that game, I think.
A million years went by quick.
People in New England think that the Red Sox won that series, three games to four.
And then after that, running around the bases, it was just one of those things. You couldn't believe what happened to you. And I look back on it, it's almost like it happened to somebody else.
I always looked up there, because I remember a time when the only things on the walls in Fenway were the Jimmy Fund sign and the retired numbers. Never in a million years did you think you'd ever be up there with those guys.
But there was also a little of that thing they say about New Englanders: Being from here doesn't prevent me from doing anything, it just prevents me from enjoying it.
I knew it was gonna go out. It was just a question of it being fair or foul. The wind must have carried it 15 feet toward the foul pole. I just stood there and watched. I didn't want to miss seeing it go out.
The '70s were a time of turmoil and turnover. But I grew up here. I always wanted to play here.
