When his friend became manager, Lee found an inspiring leader who built confidence.

If you're out there and you make an error or something, it's not where he's going to jump on you or something.

He's not even going to talk to you that day.

He'll bring you in the next day.

He won't talk about it.

And I feel like guys play, when they're out there, just play at ease.

You know, they just go out there and do what they have to do.

You know, at first, at the beginning of the year,

He took you all over the place.

Yeah, you kind of did your homework, yeah.

Because, you know, he did that, and his family did it in the 40s.

You know, something that we did during the winter and played, obviously, baseball in the summertime.

But I got to play a lot.

I mean, skate a lot.

And I had the opportunity to try out for the 72 Olympics, which was in Sapporo, Japan.

Were you ready to go to pro ball? Did you want to go to college? What did your parents say?

He took you all over the place.

Yeah, you kind of did your homework.

Yeah.

He did that and his family did it in the 40s.

And, you know, something that we did during the winter and played, obviously, baseball in the summertime.

But I got to play a lot.

I mean, skate a lot.

Were you ready to go to pro ball? Did you want to go to college? What did your parents say?

Mm-hmm.

They came to play.

And when I was in the, in the clubhouse and just seeing how they went about their business and, and talking about the game and just, it was, um, that's something that, uh, y- y- it, it just never goes away, you know, being, being in, in, in, in that dugout.

And then, and then just not recently, not too long ago I, I saw an old, uh, tape of the game and, and there I was coming into the dugout, and there's Pete Rose hugging me, and Davey Lopes, God rest his soul, and LeSlaughter.

I mean, Schmi- that's just like, it's crazy, man.

These are all Hall of Famers.

These are greats.

... base.

Well, you know, at that time when

I got released from the Pirates, I had like maybe a week.

And Bobby and I had the same agent at the time.

And Tony Antonazio, may he rest in peace.

And I had two deals out on the table.

I had deals with two American clubs with like a two-year extension deal.

And that was being offered to me.

Why don't you talk about how it's going to be happy and kind of sad remembering those two guys.

a boxer, right, Lee?

Yeah, he was a boxer.

And the only thing that he did... was support me, no matter what.

And he embraced me, he supported me, he was there every game, no matter where I played, in the parade grounds, Prospect Park, Marine Park, all the fields in Brooklyn.

And every time, and every game I went to, I mean, I played and he was there.

Like I said, he never, ever, my entire career, said, hey, how come you struck out on that pitch? Or how come you made an error? Never, not once.

And that was an amazing thing.

What did it mean to come back to be part of