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Live Chat With Former MLB Outfielder Billy Sample
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Ray
1:15
Did u enjoy being a yankee?
Billy Sample
1:18
There was something going on everyday and not necessarily baseball related .  We won 97 games, that was enjoyable but Toronto won 99 and there was no wild card ... the talent on that team and the names of players who had impressive numbers on their baseball cards ... playing one year there seems to have a lifespan greater than all of the other years
Don
1:19
Billy,  Didn't you play Strat baseball or even APBA Baseball?  Thanks!
Billy Sample
1:20
APBA with my cousin that I mentioned earlier and I played a two out of three series of Strat-o-matic with a guy who lives about forty-five minutes away and it came down to the final roll of the dice.  You may still be able to find that series on the Internet
Caylen
1:21
Is the game too soft now?
Billy Sample
1:25
I don't think so, but I understand the question.  It's a more interactive fraternity now.  Heck, we'd get fined if we spoke more than thirty seconds to an opposing player.  I don't remember players wearing body armor from my day, maybe some did and I simply didn't notice ... players still get hit and get hit hard ... when I see a player pull up at the warning track, I think of how many times I ran into walls, but I remind myself that I ran into walls ... and liked it!  (LOL)
CJS
1:26
Why did you hang them up at 31? Was it your choice?
Billy Sample
1:29
No, the owners engaged in a practice referred to as 'collusion' in which they attempted to depress salaries ... and some of us in marginal situations loss the end of their careers.  For instance, Chris Chambliss led the NL in pinch-hits in 1986, batted over .300 and didn't get any offers
Paul
1:29
What are your thoughts on the latest rule chances (pitch clock, bigger bases, stopping the shift, 3 batter minimum, and ghost runner for extras)?
Billy Sample
1:30
I'm resistant to change, but so much of the changes over the decades seems to have worked for the better  ... maybe I'm too old school, not sure
Stu
1:30
Do you have a favorite memory of your time as a broadcaster? Thanks!
Billy Sample
1:34
Oh, usually the mess ups ... I miscalled an out into a home run in Atlanta ... I couldn't get my earpiece in my ear during a live standup also in Atlanta ... I did call the middle innings of Kenny Rogers perfect game ... and I got to work with some of the greats, some like Jon Miller and Gary Thorne for only one game, but people like Skip Caray, Pete Van Wieran and Dave Niehaus for many games
Ed Lynch
1:35
You were a really good college player, you hit the ball hard all the time!
Billy Sample
1:36
Is this the Ed Lynch who just had a birthday ... six-foot seven pitcher out of the University of South Carolina?
BarryBonds
1:36
Were any of the guys who were ahead of the curve and were roiding up in the Hall of Fame now?
Billy Sample
1:37
LOL, I think you know the answer
Al Oliver 4 HOF
1:37
What was your reaction to the Blyleven/Oliver trade?
Billy Sample
1:39
I wasn't there yet.  My goodness what a pleasure to be in the lineup with Scoop.  I remember a double header he had in Detroit, 6 for 9 (and I don't remember the outs as those were hit hard too) 4 homers, a double and a triple.  I felt like I should have gone to the ticket window and bought a ticket as my seat to view this was too good
Bob Gibson
1:40
Did any pitcher ever intentionally throw at you?
Billy Sample
1:40
Yep ... and it ain't over
Brew88
1:40
who was the best hitter of your generation?
Billy Sample
1:41
Did Brett or Baines make an out in a clutch situation?
Jim Bouton
1:41
How much Ball Four kind of stuff did you witness?
Billy Sample
1:42
Quite a bit ... in fact I told Jim Bouton that I had Ball Four situations in my movie Reunion 108
John Q Public
1:42
Were you ever in a game when the Kissing Bandit did her thing?
Billy Sample
1:44
I don't think so and I really didn't care much for her act.  Then in an offseason in Dallas we were both at an event and she won me over, she was delightful ... and then while she was getting interviewed I snuck up on her and gave her a kiss.  One of my prouder moments (LOL)
Harrisonburg resident
1:44
What was your favorite part of living and playing in Harrisonburg, VA?
Billy Sample
1:46
I played college and summer league in Harrisonburg ... staying at Mrs Smith's house.  I wonder if I could still find the house ... oddly enough last year was the first time I visited Eastern Mennonite
Benjamin
1:46
Where you a Atlanta Braves announcer in the late 1980s or early 1990s; if so any good stories about Skip
Billy Sample
1:47
Skip was very proud and protective of his Dad Harry.  I stepped in once between some smart guy trying to make a point
Guest
1:48
as a three sport athlete, its clear you had natural talent, but are there any coaching moments of clarification/a time when something clicked and you took your game to the next level?
Billy Sample
1:49
I learned more about situation hitting in five minutes from Doyle Alexander my last year than I had heard in all of the years before ... I was teammates with Doyle when I first came up, I needed to hear that earlier, then again I later faced Doyle so he may not have wanted to help me so early in my career :-)
RnRCircus
1:50
Did you check out the other players wangs to see what they were packing? If so who had the biggest bat?
Billy Sample
1:50
Oh, some funny stories that I can't tell you
Ray
1:56
What time did u start preparing for a game,  let's say 7 pm start time?
Billy Sample
1:58
At home I might lift light weights around two thirty ... team workouts (hitting) begins around 4:30-4:45, infield at six-ten ... game at seven
Spitter
2:00
What was like facing Gaylord Perry and as his teammate did you know where he hid the lubricant?
Billy Sample
2:01
Gaylord was so good at it that he wouldn't apply the substance onto the ball until he got in the middle of his windup
Ejected
2:01
What gets said when you get ejected?
Billy Sample
2:02
Usually 'you' followed by an expletive gets you tossed
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