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It wasn’t so much a question, as it was a command. And that is what Luis Tiant was, a Commander. He was commanding me to prove to him that it was worth his time to answer my questions and he would decide during the next 60 seconds if he was staying or leaving, (and more than likely, taking Tony and Bert with him).

If you played baseball or softball or just love watching the games, you will enjoy reading Kelly G. Park’s book, Just Like Me.

He has done a wonderful service to the history of baseball by collecting and sharing these interviews. We are deeply appreciative that he included the narratives of African Americans and women so that a wider swath of the public who play the game can truly read this book and think, They were just like me.

“Wait a minute, what did I just hear my Grandma say?” “Did she say Joe Pepitone was cute?” In the eight years of my life, I had never heard Grandma say anything like that … did I really hear her say Joe Pepitone was cute?

Jim knew he wanted to be a baseball player by the time he was seven-years-old, and he made sure everyone in his family knew that was his dream, but what he heard back was, “Too bad that he’s so small.” Fortunately, Jim had the desire to learn and compete. So, how did he learn to play the game of baseball, by going out and playing, it didn’t matter if there were only two of his friends around or enough for an actual game, they were out there playing and having fun.