Tony La Russa

I think there's a growing number of pitchers who want to have a plan going into a game about how they're going to go after that lineup. I'd say 75 percent want to have an idea, and they plan their attack. I know that 75 percent of hitters do not have that same type of plan against a pitcher.

My wife and I, we started a foundation about companion animal rescue, but there's a group called Performing Animal Welfare Society just outside of Sacramento... and they offered me a job as an elephant keeper.

There's a bigger difference now than when I first got into professional baseball because that was before guaranteed contracts, before there was a lot of money, so it was mostly survival. You had more competition.

Winning in Oakland in '89 was distinguished because that was truly a great team on a mission to prove that '88 was not what we represented. I look at that team in awe. It was a push-button team.

I've said this: If Jim Leyland had been in my place, he'd have the 2,000 wins and I'd have 1,000. Leyland is the greatest.

If you watch the history of baseball, teams come back, and sometimes they could have come back, but they give in or give up.

What you end up doing is you try to match your guy's strength against a place they can be successful. They're doing the same thing against us. Sometimes they have the edge, sometimes you have the edge.

I don't miss being in the dugout - I'll make that clear.

My mind is just a product of 50 years of being taught. I'm no smarter than anyone else, but I've been taught by some wonderful people.

You can't manage by memo. You can't stand up there and just send out edicts. I think you just gotta really personalize your relationships.

I can only think of about four players who I do not have anywhere from a good to a great relationship with.

I was a lousy player with virtually no experience managing.