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.
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’m the type of person, I cross the bridges once I get to ’em. I don’t try to plan my life three, four months in advance, because you don’t know if tomorrow’s promised to you.
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.
Back when I was training, probably the only nutritious thing on the market was Gatorade-that’s all that we knew. But now in this day and age, people are more prone to go out to try new things to enhance their performance on the field-to enhance their physical appearance.
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.
