Momentum? Momentum is the next day's starting pitcher.
And then when I went to stay in '68, I can honestly say that I was not focused on my career and on what it took to be a major league pitcher and to be a starting pitcher.
Momentum is your next day's pitcher.
You don't save a pitcher for tomorrow. Tomorrow it may rain.
It's all about starting momentum, hitting the ground running, and starting out hot.
If I'm a pitcher, my only point would be that if I'm a relief pitcher, I think I like the idea of warming up on the field.
We're pretty good at putting bunts down and really good at hitting. I know as a pitcher, when you face a pitcher you know can hit, that's not fun. I think taking pride in that, and being able to hit helps your own cause.
In a good meeting there is a momentum that comes from the spontaneous exchange of fresh ideas and produces extraordinary results. That momentum depends on the freedom permitted the participants.
A pitcher is only as good as his legs.
I don't mean to diminish the job, it's a good job and a real pressure job. But I don't think a relief pitcher should ever be the most valuable player of a league. We only play in maybe half of the games. Being a relief pitcher means part-time employment. We're bench players, and bench players shouldn't be M.V.P.
When people ask me, "Who was the toughest pitcher you ever faced?", I have to say that there has never been a pitcher who over-impressed me. That's not meant to be a bragging statement. It's just that I get up for good pitchers.
I think that a starting pitcher has to do something special to be as valuable or more so than a position player.
When you're up there and everything feels good and you're competing against the pitcher and the pitcher strikes you out, you're like, 'OK, yeah, I struck out, but that's OK.'
The problem with tomorrow is that I have never seen a tomorrow. Tomorrow does not exist. Tomorrow only exist in the mind of dreamers and losers.
If you're a starting pitcher, the ball's in your hands and all eyes are you. And when you're kicking, either you missed it or you made it. So there's a lot of parallels in that.
That's sometimes the hardest thing to do as a professional athlete, because when you get lit up, you wear it, especially as a starting pitcher.