Q. How has the game changed since you played?

 The players are making more money, we can start with that. Outside of that, it hasn't changed all that much. Baseball is baseball. You still have to be able to pitch; you still have to be able to catch, and you still have to hit. I think when I was growing up, baseball was the dominant sport. More kids were playing baseball than football and basketball. Now, especially in the inner cities, that has changed a lot.

Q. Did you view the game differently as a manager than as a player?

 Well, you have to. As a player, you more or less seem to worry about yourself, making sure you stay in shape, making sure that you are still productive and still doing well so that the manager puts you in the lineup. And, yeah, you think about the team and winning, but boy, when you manage, that’s really what you think about and how you can better the players and help them get better and make more money. It is a lot more responsibility managing a baseball team than it is to play.

Q. Who was the most enjoyable player to coach?

 I've had a whole lot of them. I had a lot of great players that I have managed. I've had a number of Yankees. I had Ricky Henderson, Dave Winfield, Dave Righetti, and Ron Guidry. In Seattle I had Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner. In Cincinnati I had Eric Davis, Barry Larkin, Paul O'Neil. In Tampa Bay I had a couple of good young players in Rocco Baldelli and Carl Crawford. I've been fortunate-- I've managed a lot of good players and I know that I'm leaving a lot of names out, but it's fun to manage great players and see them get better.

Q. Has there been one team you most enjoyed coaching?

 I've enjoyed coaching everywhere I've been, but the world championship teams I managed in Cincinnati were great.  We went wire to wire with guys like Randy Myers, Ron Dibble, Norm Charlton, the Nasty Boys and the rest of the good players I had over there, that was a lot of fun. Also, I managed a team in Seattle that didn’t win a world championship but did win 116 games. Those kids really were good players and they really played to win. It's a shame that the Yankees sent us home in the American League Championship Series.

Q. Who was your favorite player when you were growing up?

 I have a couple. The first one was a guy named Al Rosen who played for the Cleveland Indians. Then my second was Ted Williams. I think Ted Williams was a lot of young men's favorite player.

Q. What was the single best moment of your playing career?

 I had a lot of good moments, but the best moment was the first time we won a world championship, in 1977. That’s really what you play for. Really, my favorite season was the '78 season. We were almost totally out of it at the All Star break, and we came back and won back to back world championships and we did it beating Boston in a very exciting playoff game up in Fenway. Then we went on to beat Kansas City and then to beat the Dodgers again. But '78 was my favorite season.

Q. When you were playing, who was the best pitcher?

 That’s a good question. When I first came up to the big leagues, Denny McLain, a pitcher from the Detroit Tigers, won 31 ball games in one year. That’s pretty darn good. Nolan Ryan really threw the ball hard, and he was very tough to hit. He was the toughest pitcher for me to hit. He threw so hard and had that great curveball, and he was a little wild, which didn’t make it too enjoyable.

Q. How is winning a World Series coaching compared to winning one playing?

 It's more rewarding as a manager because there's a lot more work you need to put in as a manager.

Q. What do you do to relax?

 I play a little golf.  I do a little fishing. I enjoy my grandkids and playing the stock market. Those are the things I do more than anything else.

Q. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

 I like banana splits, but my favorite is mint chocolate chip.