Darrell Porter - 1982 World Series MVP

	Who was your childhood hero? Who is the greatest pitcher you ever caught? Who is the greatest pitcher you ever faced? You write "Prov. 3:5,6" under your autograph. What does that mean? What advice would you give aspiring young athletes? Other than the Seventh game of the 1982 World Series, what was your most memorable game? Would you ever consider Managing?

TOP	Who was your childhood hero? Mickey Mantle.

TOP	Who is the greatest pitcher you ever caught? Nolan Ryan. I caught him in the All Star game. Joaquin Andujar would have been the greatest pitcher of any of my teammates.

TOP	Who is the greatest pitcher you ever faced? Nolan Ryan.
TOP	You write "Prov. 3:5,6" under your autograph. What does that mean? I'm really glad you asked me about the Bible verse I put under my signature. It is a question I get asked a lot. The verse I write is Proverbs 3:5,6. It goes like this: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path." There are a couple reasons I do this. First, because God has influenced my life in such a wonderful and positive way, that I want to honor Him in every thing I do, including signing my autograph. Secondly, because this verse is sort of my favorite verse. It has meant a lot to me as I try to do as it says. I have discovered that life is not always easy, and we all are confronted at times with things that we don't understand. We wonder why such things would happen to us, or others we love. This verse tell us that if we have a personal relationship with God, and trust in Him, we can know that know matter what happens to us God is in control. If we stay faithful to Him He will guide us through our lives, even our toughest storms.
TOP	What advice would you give aspiring young athletes? Thanks for asking what advice I would give to aspiring young athletes. First, I would tell them to find a sport, or sports they really enjoy playing. So often kids play sports because someone else wants them to. If you don't really enjoy it you are never going to be as good as you could have been if you did enjoy it. The chances of you getting anything out of it is slim. Most kids want to be a professional athlete, but that is something that doesn't happen often. I think a young athlete should have high goals, and making it to the top is the highest goal you can have. You should give yourself every opportunity to do just that. You need to remember that very few athletes make it to the professional level right out of high school, so you need to be realistic and figure you are going to have to go to college if you ever hope to make it. Your grades are going to dictate the school s you will be eligible to attend. There fore it is very important that you keep your grades as high as possible. You will never be disappointed you did this, because if you fail to make it into pro ball you will at least have a great education, and will be able to do well in life. Aside from that you must dedicate yourself to becoming the best you can be. I know there are other things that young people like to do, but anything that takes your mind off your goal of being the best you can be will hinder your chances of reaching your goals. I know that it seems tough to do, but remember you are young, and you have the rest of your life to do these other things. This opportunity only comes around once. Give it your best shot. You'll always be satisfied you gave it you best, and won't have to look back with regrets.
TOP	Other than the Seventh game of the 1982 World Series, what was your most memorable game? I guess that my most memorable game would have to have been the 1980 playoff game with the New Yankees when George Brett took Goose Gossage out of the park into the upper deck to win the ALCS for us. We had been to the playoffs 3 out of the previous 4 years and the Yankees had beaten us all 3 times. It was a great feeling to finally beat them and make it to the World Series. Of coarse, the Phillies beat us in the series that year. I really believe we sort of felt like we had won the world series when we beat the Yankees, and really didn't play as hungry as we should have in the series.
TOP	Would you ever consider Managing? Many people have asked me if I would consider managing. I would love to manage a big league team. The problem is, is that you really have to put in lots of time coaching and managing in the minor leagues to even get a chance. I don't think I would sacrifice the time I have with my family in order to get that chance. I believe I could do the job if given the chance. That probably sounds pretty cocky to you, but I think I learned a lot about the job from one of the greatest that has ever done it. Whitey Herzog! I played 8 years for the Rat and it's hard not to learn a lot of good stuff from a guy like that. He deserves to be in the Hall Of Fame, and I hope that it happens soon.

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