To Play 18 Years In

It's Unbelievable How Much You Don't Know About The Game You've Been Playing All Your Life.

All The Ballparks And The Big Crowds Have A Certain Mystique. You Feel Attached, Permanently Wedded To The Sounds That Ring Out, To The Fans Chanting Your Name, Even When There Are Only Four Or Five Thousand In The Stands On A Wednesday Afternoon.

I've Often Wondered How A Man Who Knew He Was Going To Die Could Stand Here And Say He Was The Luckiest Man On The Face Of The Earth, But Now I Guess I Know How He Felt.

Sometimes I Sit In My Den At Home And Read Stories About Myself. Kids Used To Save Whole Scrapbooks On Me. They Get Tired Of Them And Mail Them To Me. I'll Go In There And Read Them, And You Know What? They Might As Well Be About (stan) Musial And (joe) Dimaggio, It's Like Reading About Somebody Else.

Casey Didn't Easily Forgive A Guy Who Got Doubled Up On A Hit-and-run Play. He Didn't See Any Reason Why The Runner Couldn't Take A Quick Glance Back Toward The Plate To Make Sure The Ball Was Hit Safely.