We have become so stat conscious that we forget the teams still have to play each other on the field.

Some of the things I have learned since playing in the playoffs and World Series is the importance of having a solid game plan and sticking to it. Let's just take the Tigers and A's in Game 1 of the ALCS.

What many people may not know is that both teams have been scouting each other for a month leading up to the series. Teams that think they may be going to the playoffs send out advance scouts a month before the end of the season in preparation for the postseason. Knowing that might help you understand why the Detroit batters knew exactly what to look for and how to attack Barry Zito and the A's at the plate.

It's the little things that may help you win a ballgame … what count Zito throws his curve the most, what count he throws his changeup, etc. Not that you want your players to overthink while they are in the middle of the game, but prior knowledge is huge when you're in a seven-game series. Much of this information isn't as easily obtained during the course of the year.

Yes, we've all heard about Kirk Gibson knowing when Dennis Eckersley was going to throw his backdoor slider. To get tiny but important details like that, as many as three scouts per team follow possible playoff teams for the last month of the season.

I spoke with Phil Garner yesterday about last year's NLCS and the Astros' approach to beating his opponent. As it turned out, it was very much like our team approach when the Reds faced the Pirates and A's back in 1990. It's not just formulating a game plan. It's making adjustments on the fly because every out, every pitch can have such a huge impact on one week in your baseball life.

Against Pittsburgh, we wanted to take Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla and Andy Van Slyke out of the equation. If we could stop them, we would take our chances with the rest of their lineup. Against Oakland it was Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Carney Lansford and Dave Henderson. We knew Ricky Henderson would do his thing, so we let him. We knew we had to get to Dave Stewart and Bob Welch early to take their bullpen out of play.

The numbers are great to know, but knowing how to pitch to someone, how to set up your defense and make sure you pitch to the other team that way are things that can win you a championship. I know, I was blessed to be a part of such a team.

Just so you know, Bonds, Bonilla and Van Slyke went 12-for-63 against us in the World Series. Canseco went 1-for-12 with a home run and McGwire was 3-for-14 with no homers or RBIs. Lansford went 4-for-15 and Dave Henderson went 3-for-13. Rickey Henderson went 5-for-15 with three stolen bases.

In a recent Harris Poll, 33% of the adult sports fans said they like football the best. Only 14% said baseball was their favorite sport. It's not surprising, football is the king of sports in this country. But baseball is always going to be America's pastime.

With the Collective Bargaining Agreement up in December this year, maybe baseball should look at going back in time to make a few slight changes that could get more adults to pick baseball over football.

It's easy to say from my point of view that the season is way too long. I do a daily show on XM with Kevin Kennedy 12 months a year Monday through Friday ... 3 hours of baseball. Now Kevin and I love the show and so do our listeners, but I'm talking about the passive fan, the family man, who when his teams in baseball are out of the playoff picture September 1st and has to choose where to spend his or her hard-earned money, he will go to football games, college and/or pro. 

I don't blame him. What, after 140 games and 30+ spring training games, they are supposed to keep watching meaningless games? No way ... it's time to be proactive.

Lets go back to 1961, when baseball went from a 154-game schedule to 162. Let's keep interleague play and wild-card teams, but let's shorten the season and add another round of the playoffs and two more wild-card teams. That way we don't lose fans to football because more teams and their fans will have hope after September 1st. Nothing beats playoff baseball, not even the NFL in the beginning of the season.

Greg Maddux may prove to be the best trade deadline move of them all.

 I've known Greg for more than 20 years going back to when we played against each other in the minor leagues. It's funny to hear people only talk about how professional he is. The Greg Maddux that I know has always been one of the most fun-loving, off-the-wall people that I've ever met. I only mean this in a good way.

When most teams are as boring as watching the paint dry, Greg will keeps things loose in L.A., as well as provide the Hall of Fame leadership that he is known for. For a player with four Cy Young's, 20 postseason series appearances and 15 Gold Gloves, and all his wins, the one thing I respect the most about Greg is that he has never taken himself too seriously.

When he was traded to L.A., everyone was like, "great, he can teach all these guys how to be like Greg Maddux." Please, there is only one Greg Maddux. And even Greg said, "I'm not here to coach, I'm here to pitch and win ball games for The Dodgers."

For Brad Penny, Derek Lowe and the other pitchers and position players to learn from him, is to have fun. Yes, give yourself every chance to succeed by being ready, but don't be a gloomy jerk like Jeff Kent, the man who has said he doesn't want to have any friends when he leaves baseball. Hey Jeff, I think you have that one covered.

Greg Maddux leads by example, but he also has a heck of a time playing the game too. This should be the best example of one of the greatest players ever to play baseball, being one of the best guys you'll ever meet.

Great job Ned Colletti.

With two months of the season to go, and between 13 and 18 teams still having a real shot at the wild card race, teams were willing to go after players. Granted, they weren't the big name players that many people speculated would be traded, but some outstanding players nonetheless.

Carlos Lee was huge for the Texas Rangers, who got him from the Milwaukee Brewers. They have a better chance of winning their division outright then they do of winning the AL wild card. They are only four games out of first in the AL West, so why not go for the win?

The Yankees lead the AL in the wild card race, but they want their ninth straight AL East title. Cory Lidle and Bobby Abreu for four minor leaguers, that's a steal.

Greg Maddux will be a great fit in LA and credit Jim Hendry of the Cubs with having a lot of class; he let Maddux have some meaningful starts down the stretch and he got a Gold Glove infielder in Cesar Izturis in return.

Now for the almost trades, don't believe the hype, Everyone can be had for the right price, but not too many GMs are going to give up the moon and the stars for rental players. Soriano, Zito, Clemens, Oswalt, Tejada (just to name a few) came with hefty price tags and I'm sure their GMs were asking for ridiculous scenarios in return.

With some of the free agents, you may as well keep them and get a compensatory draft pick in return when they sign with someone else during the off-season. Plus they might help you win now without losing your future.

The trade deadline always looks to good to be true, and usually is. That being said, the grade I give this year was an A, because almost every team was helped in almost every trade. Isn't that the way it should be? Help all the teams, not just the powerful ones.

Baseball is very strong right now because everyone involved wants to see it continue to prosper and let all the teams have a chance to win.

Maybe you don't remember the trade between Montreal and Seattle about 18 years ago but I do. I was playing for the Reds and there was a 6-10 fellow named Randy Johnson playing for the Montreal Expos, who was a little erratic but looked like he could have a great career.

Then there was an All Star pitcher named Mark Langston playing for the Seattle Mariners. The Expos wanted to win NOW and rent Langston for the rest of the year knowing they could lose him to free agency at the end of the year. The Mariners knew they probably couldn't re-sign Langston, so they took the chance on Johnson and did the deal.

As it worked out, Langston would help the Expos to 12 wins and then go free agent at the end of the season. The Expos did not bring home a championship. Now for the Mariners, they got an amazing young pitcher that would win 137 games for their club and get them close to a championship more than a few times.

When Randy was almost a free agent, the Astros traded for Randy and he won 10 games for them, and then went free agent at the end of the year. The Astros sent Freddie Garcia and Carlos Guillen to the Mariners.

Randy would go free agent after the season was over. The Astros didn't win and Johnson went to Arizona. The D-Backs would win a World Championship with Johnson. Now what about the two guys in the Seattle deal for Johnson?

Well, the Mariners would trade Freddie Garcia to Chicago and the White Sox would win a title with Garcia pitching against the team that traded him for Randy Johnson. And what happened to Carlos Guillen, he was traded to the Tigers a few years ago and they now have the best record in baseball.

I guess you may think this is six degrees of Randy Johnson, but I just wanted to show how one player can impact so many teams at the trade deadline. Sometimes the best trade you make is not making one at all.

    This will be the fourth time the All-Star Game winner will be given home-field advantage in the World Series. Cool, I have no problem with that.

   What I do have a problem with, is if this game means so much, why are the fans still picking the staring teams? This game has always been for the fans, picked by the fans, and I'm very cool with that, but has MLB not looked at the last 20 years and how The AL has dominated the mid-summer classic? The AL has fared 15-4-1, to be exact.

   The NL has not won a game since the last time the All-Star game was played in Pittsburgh 10 years ago. Yes, it is quite a run for the AL, but this game counts, right? So once again, if there is to be so much meaning on this game, why are the fans picking the teams? Why are there still players from every team still represented? Are you kidding me, why should a team that is already 20 games back at the break, get to have a player on a team that decides who gets home field advantage in the World Series?

    You can't have your cake and eat it too. If you make changes to the game, you better make changes to the process and give the fans a game with meaning, because the other sports sure as hell don't.

   But maybe let all the AL managers pick the team, and all the NL managers try and stop the dominance of the AL by picking their squad, but please Mr. Commissioner, quit telling us what the fans want or need, the fans are much smarter than you think.

   The fans want a great baseball game, but they don't have run the game as well. That's your job.

 I know Roger Clemens is back, and some of the older players are doing very well. But in a few years, The Big Unit will be gone, so will Barry Bonds, and Ken Griffey Jr.

Who will carry on? I'll give you just a few names that will be great for a long time:

Joe Mauer, Twins: He's the best hitting young catcher in the show. He's 23 years old and leading the A.L. in hitting right now, hitting .368 in 66 games played. Mauer may never be a great power threat, but he's already one of the toughest outs in the bigs. He has an OBP of .438, has only struck out 27 times in 247 at bats with 33 walks. That's awesome

Matt Holliday, Rockies: How about this 6-4, 26-year-old hammer? He's second in the NL in hitting at .353, has smacked 15 homers and driven in 54 runs. His batting average on the road is at .326 and he's got one less home run on the road than at Coors Field. So don't say it's just because of the thin air....

Ryan Howard, Phillies: The 2005 NL rookie of the year from 2005 is not having a sophomore slump, he's killing the ball. He's getting better and better every day. Hitting .291 with 25 jacks and 66 RBIs, when he gets a little more patient up there his .OBP and batting avg. will go way up. This kid is a Monster.

Alex Rios, Blue Jays: All this 25 year old has done so far is hit .323 with 15 homers and 51 RBI. He's on a pace to triple his output from 2005. The knock on him was potential. Not anymore, he's arrived.

Others to watch: Oakland's 25-year-old left fielder, Nick Swisher, looks everything like Jason Giambi when he was an Athletic: Great eye, great power, and one hell of a clutch bat. He's hitting .286 with 19 long balls and 49 RBIs, with an OBP of .402. Swisher is like Adam Dunn of the Reds, who has 63 strikeouts and 50 walks. When the K's go down, the average and OBP will jump up even farther. I saved the best for last right now: Mets third baseman David Wright. He is a star right now. He's hitting .336 with 18 HRs and 64 RBIs. His OBP is .402 and he's only made eight errors in 70 games. When you talk about big plays, his name always comes up. Wright should be the starting third baseman on the NL All-Star team for years to come.

The future is now and that's just a few names. I've got a lot more for you coming soon.

 

 

So, one more dumb baseball player got caught. Who's to blame? Jason Grimsley? Yes, but not really. I personally blame Don Fehr and Gene Orza and Bud Selig.

But mostly, I blame myself.

Back 12 years ago when we almost killed the game, the issue of testing came up at a player representatives meeting and when I stood up and asked for better testing throughout Major League Baseball, I was shot down by many other player reps. They spoke of privacy issues and many other stupid reasons for not testing.

Well look at the sport now. People doubting the records, Fans doubting the players, and everyone making excuses.

Thank God for Jose Canseco. And no, I don't think ratting out players was right, but what if he didn't get the ball rolling, where would we be? Who the hell cares how long some BLEEP player gets suspended when the entire sport looks bad.

Enough is enough.

Start testing everyone across the board with the most extensive program you all can find. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to stick to my guns, but hopefully the majority of the players will stand up and take back their union and get honesty back in the game. If heads have to roll to get what you want, then stop protecting the minority of players who don't care what happens to the future of the game.

A couple of seasons have passed since the Los Angeles Angels made two of the worst moves in recent history. They let the heart (David Eckstein) and soul (Troy Glaus) of their championship team go to other teams.

Eckstein, who many, including me, think is one of the hardest working and toughest playing shortstops in the game today. Not only is he one of the best leadoff men in baseball, but his all-out hustle all the time is an example of how this game is meant to be played.

Last year, when he went to St Louis, he helped propel the Cardinals to the best record in baseball and is now a fan favorite, second only to Albert Pujols. At present time, he is leading the Cards in hits with 69, has scored 34 runs and is hitting .330 with a .402 OBP. He has four errors in 52 games, and the Cardinals are in first place by five games and have a record of 34-19.

The soul of that championship team, Troy Glaus, one of the best power hitters in the game, was also let go. All he did in Arizona was hit 37 HRs and drive in 97. This year after being traded to Toronto, Troy has 17 HRs and 44 RBIs through 50 games, and the Blue Jays are right in the thick of things in the AL East, just 2.5 games behind Boston and NY. If you compare the five players that have tried to fill his shoes at third base in Los Angeles, it's almost sad. OK, it is sad. Those five players have hit .198 with four HRs and 15 RBI while committing 10 errors to Troy's four.

Those are just some numbers, but if you really measure the two men, it's not just the play but their leadership qualities which can't be measured. The Angels are 23-30 through 53 games and have no other power threat other then Vlad Guerrero. I know many teams think it's all about the money and all about the future prospects, but if you look back on just these two moves, I think they speak for themselves. You never know what you have until it's gone. Sometimes players like Glaus and Eckstein deserve more respect then just money.

  

People are asking, what's wrong with Brad Lidge and why is Albert Pujols so good?

In a word, confidence.

Baseball is played by men who by most accounts are almost all in the same talent range, with maybe a select few above the rest as far as ability. Now some people might think they could play on the same field as some major leaguers, but don't kid yourselves, these men are so talented they can hit a 95-mph fastball, or keep their hands back long enough to pick up an 88-mph slider and have enough power to hit it 400 feet.

Now once they all get to The Show they are almost all on the same level, but confidence is what makes All-Stars and lack of confidence is what ultimately results in others being sent back to the bushes.

There's nothing wrong with Brad Lidge that a confidence boost couldn't cure.

Brad Lidge hasn't lost anything on his fastball or his slider. I watched him Monday night and he was throwing an easy 97, but once your level of confidence goes down, even just a slight bit, lifetime .250 hitters become a problem. They look like they could all crush your best pitch, so you start to doubt yourself and go against what made you an All-Star.

What's worse is that everyone has an opinion on how you can get the "C" word back. Now there's too many voices in your head and you are really in trouble.

Now my advice for Brad or anyone who needs a little help is KISS -- Keep it Simple Stupid. Golfers use it, and it gets them back on track. Just get the ball, pick up your catcher and try and throw it right through him like you used to. Block out all the other voices except your own, and KNOW that no one is going to hit your stuff. Listen, there's no easy way to explain this except when I asked Pete Rose about hitting, and he told me he never changed his batting stances. He said that he KNEW he would come out of a slump.

Confidence, it's easy to say, but hard to keep. I was watching Albert Pujols the other night. He missed badly on one pitch, then took a second or two outside the batters box and talked to himself. I think he basically told himself to calm down, and on the next pitch hit it 450 feet over the fence. It was all about confidence. And because he had it, Albert KNEW that only he could beat himself.

   It's the way of the world these days: over-hype the guys who haven't earned it and expect the older players to pick up the pieces.

   Yes Albert Pujols is amazing, so is David Ortiz..Yes Ballparks are smaller and baseballs are harder and home runs are up 20% this season already. How about we pay tribute to some older but still awesome pitchers who are still kicking BLEEP and taking names. They haven't heard that offense is king in baseball these days

Greg Maddux of the Cubs: He's the King with Roger Clemens on vacation right now. in 4 starts, Greg is 4-0 with a league-leading ERA of 0.99 and in 27innings pitched he's given up only 15 hits while walking only 5 and striking out 18.

Curt Schilling of the Red Sox: The guy with the bad ankle! He's also 4-0 in 4 starts and has just blown away hitters this season. In 28 innings pitched he's allowed only 17 hits. Talk about command, only 4 walks and 23 strikeouts and a tiny 1.61 ERA...

Tom Glavine is off to a great start with The Mets, 2-1 in 4 starts and a 1.38 ERA with only 6 walks to 26 strike outs.

Mike Mussina on the other New York team is 2-1 in 4 starts and has a very nice 2.67 ERA with only 6 walks to 23 strikeouts.

A couple things these guys have in common are age and greatness. Yes they are old, but they still throw nothing but strikes and of the 16 games these 4 men have started all 16 have been quality starts. Some things do get better with age.

The last week of spring training is always the hardest, but not just for the players, how about the general managers of 30 baseball teams?

How many sleepless nights do you think the teams GMs have had this spring? Think about it.

For starters, it was the first time the World Baseball Classic was held. For a general manager, this was truly a nightmare. Yeah, it was great for baseball, but how about if you just signed someone like Johnny Damon. You see him for a few days in camp with his new teammates and then boom, he's playing in the tournament. Then you get a phone call, "Hey my arm is sore and I can't play." That's got to make you sick.

Then there's the trading for new guys, trying to build a winner, trying to get players to make it through spring training healthy. How would you like to be J.P. Ricciardi with the Toronto Blue Jays? You sign some big name free agents more on promise than on talent. One of those players has had a history of arm injuries and then he gets hurt in spring training. How does that $55 million dollar signing feel now?  

Thankfully it was some scar tissue breaking up in A.J. Brunett's elbow but do you think J.P. slept the night before the MRI? Brian Cashman of The New York Yankees has a few rings to fall back on, but how about if you're Bill Stoneman with the Los Angeles Angels, and your players are dropping like flies, some guys are in The World Baseball Classic and you haven't even started the season?

Tough job isn't it?

It's not fantasy baseball, this is for real. Real money, real players and really big worries.

I just talked to Jim Hendry on the radio show I do with Kevin Kennedy on XM. The Cubs haven't won a championship in almost 100 years and his two star pitchers, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, must give him plenty of rest. Yeah right. One or both might start the year on the DL, and he's in the last year of his contract, he traded three young pitchers for Juan Pierre, who is hitting .273 this spring and is coming off a down year. Plus he will be starting young players in the field and really doesn't have a front line closer.

Still, I respect the hell out of Jim because he doesn't make excuses; he says they should still win the NL Central. He also had to cut players to get down to the 25 man final roster and long time star Marquis Grissom decided to hang it up.

Imagine having to call players in and say you aren't good enough to play anymore, or we have to send you down, or you need more seasoning. I have to tell you, I have nothing but respect for GMs because I felt it was tougher on them than it was on me when they had to tell me it was hard to leave.

Let me leave you with this, for 14 straight years the best GM has been John Schuerholz of the Atlanta Braves. Last year he had 13 different rookies play during the season and the Braves won the division again. Now some will say, but they've only won one championship despite 14 consecutive division titles. I say they've left spring training 14 times and done just exactly what Mr. Schuerholz gave them a chance to do.

Being a GM may be the toughest job in the big leagues. OK it is.

What I hear so often to describe Barry Bonds is not how amazing he is, or how he would have blown away pitching back when Babe Ruth played, but how he must have cheated to become this good.

When people talk about the end of Roger Clemens' career, all I hear is how he must have had help doing what he has done.

Enough already.

One thing the people who actually played in the last 20 years with these two men would know is how amazing their feats have been. Forget the cheating stuff because it's all nonsense anyway. It's never been proven that taking anything, whether it be steroids or vitamins, can make you into a Hall of Famer. If it were, more players and non-players would be lining up to BLEEP every pill on the planet.

What we should be doing instead of bashing greatness, is appreciating it for what it is. When Barry is gone and Roger throws his last pitch, two of the greatest players that ever played will be gone.

Let me just tell you from listening to the critics what they haven't really said: To play today, you have to face the world's best every day. Do you think the Babe, smoking and drinking the way he did back in the day, would've survived today's best? Have you ever seen Barry and Roger work out? I have, and that's why today's ballplayers should get way more respect then they do.

Pills don't make the players. Hard work, passion and a huge gift from God make the players. Let's just love the game in 2006. Stop the hating.

I was listening to a writer who had a Hall of Fame vote. He was saying he didn't know where to put relievers that are eligible for The Hall of Fame.

I have a tip.

Put them in The Hall of Fame.

For some reason, writers can't figure out how history will remember closers and bullpens. How about we take a look at the last time a team won a world championship without a good or great closer and or bullpen. Well that would be in the early '60s. Since then every team that has won a championship has had help down in the 'pen.

If that isn't helping to judge the great relievers, then let's look at the salary increases to some of the relievers just in this off-season. The reason for the money being spent is an indication of how valuable an asset short relievers and closers are. Toronto paid $47 million to B.J. Ryan and he only has 42 career saves, Billy Wagner and the Mets? Try $43 million for his 284 career saves. Kyle Farnsworth got $17 million from the Yankees to set up future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera.

The Cubs gave Bob Howry $12 million and he saved only <i>three</i> games in Cleveland last year. Before that, he hadn't had a save since 2001 when he was with the Chicago White Sox. He has been great as a set up man in Cleveland the last 2 seasons.

Let's take Braden Looper and The St. Louis Cardinals; he got $13.5 million over the next three seasons but was 28 for 36 in saves last year, and that's why.

Pitchers are used in a totally different way than they were 50 years ago. We take pitchers, mostly with the best arms on a team or in an organization, and make them relievers. These are pitchers who can get loose in 10 pitches or less and can throw strikes in the highest pressure situations oBLEEPame right out of the 'pen. Yet when it comes to voting them into the Hall of Fame we look upon them like they are half of a starting pitcher, or freaks or DH's.

Let's take a look at some of the recent Hall of Famers. Some of them just hung around five or 10 more years, flipping the ball up there just to get 300 wins. Yet many of those games were completed by bullpens. Oh, he won 300, he's in ... please. Lee Smith, the all-time save leader with 478 (and throw in another 71 wins), helped his teams win 549 games over his career. He's the Cy Young among closers, yet writers can't figure out how GREAT he was. Or Goose Gossage, 310 saves and 124 wins and 22 years in the big leagues. Find one of his peers including myself that would say he wasn't the best they've ever seen, but hold on, The writers won't say that. Bruce Sutter, one of the best ever, shouldn't have to beg to get a pass to The Hall.

How come every year history shows us that you can't win a championship without a great bullpen? Maybe we should have history explain it to the writers.

First posted on Wednesday, Nov. 16

Today more than 25% of all the MLB Players are Latin American. This year three of the four major awards were won by Latin American players. The AL MVP was won by Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees, the AL CY Young Award was won by Bartolo Colon of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the NL MVP Award was won by Albert Pujols of the St Louis Cardinals.

I wanted to take a little time to talk about the players as people as opposed to them as players since it's so close to Thanksgiving. I guess I can start this by saying, during my first year in the minor leagues up in Eugene, Oregon, I lived above two players from the Dominican Republic.

As the season wore on I really got to know both of them. They ate hot dogs for breakfast, lunch and dinner. What money they saved, they sent back to their families in their native land. Now being from a middle class family in Connecticut, I was really impressed.

As I rose to the Major Leagues I played Winter baseball in Puerto Rico a couple of times, and it made me really understand why these players had such devotion to their families ... I saw families living in shacks made of tin with no floors and the sides of the shacks didn't touch the ground.

I saw poverty at it's worst but I also saw many players who would do anything to give back to their families and towns because just being able to play baseball, they knew they had really been given a blessing.

We all know the story of Roberto Clemente; he died trying to help total strangers in Nicaragua who had been devastated by an earthquake ... His plane carrying much needed medical, food and clothing supplies crashed and his body was never found. So let's talk about this year's MVPs.

Alex Rodriguez, a 2-time Award winner, has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to many charities. Let's just tell you about a couple of them. He gave $750,000.00 to the Boys and Girls Clubs and the Dominican Republic Relief Effort.

He also spends much of his time helping the youth of this country to improve their mental health ...His wife Cynthia, who has a Masters degree in Psychology, also helps Alex in many charities and says, "It's a lifelong effort to help children improve their mental health".

Your NL MVP Albert Pujols is just as giving. He has the Pujols Family Foundation that donates money to three or four charities including one very close to his heart, the Down Syndrome Association of Greater St Louis.

It's very close to him because Albert and his wife Deidre have a 7-year-old daughter named Isabella who has Down Syndrome. And what has Albert said besides being so giving, "I hope in 5 years we are helping 15 or 20 charities like this".

These are just two Latin American players. How about this year's AL MVP runner-up David Ortiz and last year's AL MVP winner Vladimir Guerrero. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, they both donated $ 50,000 dollars to the relief effort.

When asked why, David responded, "When we were younger, Vlad and I remember when we were hit with a hurricane and America was so generous. It was just the right thing to do".

The world not just America needs role models like these. I hear all the time how greedy baseball players are. I just wanted you to know, that there are many players who give back, not because they have to, but because they want to.

Have a great Thanksgiving.