Photo: U.S. Consulate General - Osaka

The baseball guru on tripe stew, broken legs, and fake mustaches.

Interviewed by Sean Woods

What adventure most changed your life?

Living in the Dominican Republic when I was 21. I was the number one draft pick of the Dodgers in 1968, and they placed me in Santo Domingo to get some extra at-bats. It kept me from going to Vietnam, and it was a complete culture shock. It made me understand what it is to be a minority and that the whole world didn’t revolve around me. And also that mondongo — tripe stew — isn’t all that bad.

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What one skill should every man have?

The willingness to change his mind. It’s the greatest right all men have, and it should be used.

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Do you have a scar that tells a story?

I broke my leg running into a wall. Which basically ended my career. I was a shortstop who was asked to play center field for the Angels, and Dick Green, a second baseman for the A’s, hit a home run that I thought I could catch regardless of the fact that it was over the fence. I ran as fast as I could into the wall, and the wall didn’t go down. It was the exact same break as Joe Theismann’s. The only difference is that in 1973, medicine was a little different, and I came out of the cast with a leg that had a 20-degree bend one way and an 18-degree bend the other.

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Who is the toughest guy you know?

Tommy Lasorda. He was tough with his fists. I saw him in front of his house one day hit a kid who had been speeding by on a motorcycle. Knocked him across the hood of a car.

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What advice would you give the younger you?

My mom always told me that I talk too much. So I’d tell the younger me: Listen a little more. But knowing me, I probably wouldn’t have listened.

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What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Lasorda was managing down in the Dominican winter league, where I’d played for him five years before, and I said, “Tommy, all these people don’t believe I can still play at the same level I did before I broke my leg. Why don’t you let me come down and play for you, and you can tell me what you think.” We had a deal. And at the end of the season we went out for pizza and he said, “OK, I’ll tell you. I think you should start thinking about coaching or managing.” And we both cried.

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What role does vanity play in a man’s life?

Vanity is like steam from the shower. It just fogs up the mirror.

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When is it OK for a man to wear a disguise?

Only for levity! That time I returned to the Mets dugout with a fake mustache and glasses after being thrown out, it was done in a moment when I felt a degree of panic setting in with my team and they needed to smile. If I knew then it was gonna cost me $5,000 and a two-game suspension, would I have done it? Probably, yes.

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What’s the best way to motivate other men?

With a very private reprimand and a very public reward.

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What should every man experience before he dies?

Failure. And every man should experience being broke. I’ve been broke twice in my life, and it’s anything but the end.

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What skill would you like to master?

I’m still young enough to master skiing the top of a mogul on the Highline out in Vail. I’ve put a lot of time into skiing, and I’d like to be able to clear the tops of them just once.

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How should a man handle getting older?

Continue to look forward. When the past starts to concern you too much is when you’ve given in to old age.

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This article originally appeared in the October 2011 issue of Men’s Journal.

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