I Could've Played Basketball, But My Mind

Circulating Through The Children's Ward And Seeing Terminally Ill Kids, Heads Shaved, Smiling And Having A Ball Despite The Tubes And Needles Sticking Into Them, I Thought: What Do I Have To Worry About? If God Takes Me, At Least I've Lived For 35 Years.

I Could've Played Basketball, But My Mind Was On Baseball. I Didn't Know What I Was In For. In High School It Was A Matter Of Talent. No One Told You What To Do.

I Was Able To Get Operated On Four Days After I Was Diagnosed. It Was Just A Matter Of Getting This Baseball-sized Tumor Out Of Me. I Reflect Now On How Lucky I Was To Be In The Situation Where I Could Get The Best Possible Help And Treatment.

I've Been Hearing This Since I First Joined The Reds Organization, That I'm Going To Be The Next This Or That. It's Tough On A Young Player Coming Up. You Show Some Positive Things And Everybody Jumps On That And Says You Should Be The Next Willie Mays.

People Saw Me As Being Heroic, But I Was No More Heroic Than I Was With Other Injuries I Had, Like The Lacerated Kidney I Suffered During The 1990 World Series. It's Just That People Haven't Known Anyone With A Lacerated Kidney, But Everyone Can Relate To Someone With Cancer.