Why put the burden on baseball to try and figure out where to go, and maybe put an asterisk? Just wipe the whole thing out.

It's a relief for everybody, it really is. We get the distractions away from here and we can focus on baseball now.

What am I going to say to him? How to handle himself? Swing a bat, be successful and drive some runs in tonight. That's how I want him to handle himself. Other than that, I don't feel I have to go in and talk to him about how to handle himself on a baseball field.

Listen, I was the first black manager in baseball and there was incredible pressure. I don't blame anyone else. I was too tough . . . I lack patience. I probably got on guys a little too hard, with the wrong tone of voice.

It was unbelievable the way he pitched. His record should have been better. It took some growing up on the mound, understanding the situation, the pitches and the sequences of attacking the hitter. He is kind of strong-willed. We had to kind of fight through that wall of his to see it our way.

He prepared you to go out and play baseball and have an opportunity to win ballgames, ... We were well organized. He knew the rules of the game. He executed the game fundamentally -- offensively and defensively. He could show you both ways. In the infield-fly rule, he would teach you how to do it defensively and offensively.

He does not carry himself as a prima donna-type superstar. But to me he is one of the top players in baseball if he's healthy.