He ain't gonna walk you. He don't think you can hit him.

Goose Gossage had a runner on second and third in the 1984 World Series and Kirk Gibson was up to bat. For students of baseball and fans in general the smart thing to do was walk Gibson and set up the double play. Gossage called his manager out to the mound to discuss pitching to Gibson. While they were talking Sparky Anderson was screaming at his hitter,"He don't think you can hit. He ain't gonna walk you". He basically challenged his manhood.
When Dick Williams returned to the dugout and Goose took the mound Kirk looked like he could commit murder at that point. Sparky had him so pissed off that all he needed was a pitch that he could reach with his bat. Next pitch was a fastball that came in at 97 miles an hour and went out faster. A three run upper deck shot that ended the series. Masterful motivation by a great manager. And a humble manager as well. He never failed to give the credit to his players. He always maintained that the players won games and managers lost them.
I had a chance to meet him one day in Toronto during the World Series in 1992. (I think) A great man who was hard of hearing to the point of being deaf. He would cock that head of his to the left and down and say"How's that?" to everything I said. But we spent a good 20 minutes together and it is something I will never forget. I'm reasonably sure that Sparky is asking St. Peter right now if we have a double header scheduled tomorrow. "How's that?"........

Till next......