If my mother put on a helmet and shoulder pads and a uniform that wasn’t the same as the one I was wearing, I’d run over her if she was in my way. And I love my mother.
By doing that and being very competitive, the grown-ups started telling me even back before I started playing organized ball that I was too physical and too advanced for the kids my own age.
I was always an Alabama fan growing up, but when the Alabama recruiter told me I would probably not be able to play until the end of my sophomore year, or the beginning of my junior year.
I was a pitcher, shortstop and outfielder, and the Yankees tried to sign me out of high school as a first-round draft pick in 1981. I turned them down to go to college.
I was the type of guy that used to get up in the morning and go out and just out run everybody on the field without stretching or warming up or anything.
