These days baseball is different. You come to spring training, you get your legs ready, you arms loose, your agents ready, your lawyer lined up.

I’ve experienced a lot of things in baseball, but I’ve never been traded during a strike. At least I know I’ll be in a new uniform the next time I put one on.

People I look to: again, Hank Aaron, man you challenged the status quo and the records of the game. Monumental feats in an era where people didn’t like that.

The only players that are having fun are those having a good year, feasting on pitching or blowing down hitters and garnering all the adulation that goes with it. But, if you’re not hitting or not throwing well, or are injured, you better look for fun someplace else.

And I found out, the other part of it is that I found out and in my desire to life successfully, that baseball fit very well into my life. It’s been a great teacher, trainer, mentor and you’ll see what I mean in the next few minutes that I have to speak.

You know, many of you kids can’t relate to what it takes to get to the top rung, the top of the heap, to have success. We’re looking for things that come in a minute. It just doesn’t happen.

There is no way, believe me, despite my name being Winfield, and loving the game dearly. It wasn’t in the cards. I didn’t know what it was going to take to get here.

Good hitters don’t just go up and swing. They always have a plan. Call it an educated deduction. You visualize. You’re like a good negotiator. You know what you have, you know what he has, then you try to work it out.

All though I didn’t meet him. His legend and his saga and his story is just that. Jackie Robinson, we all have to tip our hat to him. Because he made the game available to guys like me.

Everyone has a breaking point, turning point, stress point, the game is permeated with it. The fans don’t see it because we make it look so efficient. But internally, for a guy to be successful, you have to be like a clock spring, wound but not loose at the same time.