Jim Kaat was young and Warren Spahn was old, and the kid wanted to learn from the master. He asked a coach to arrange a meeting, and for 20 minutes the ancient lefty told the green lefty about mechanics — how to use the torso to drive to the plate, and so on. The pitchers parted, and then Spahn turned back for a final word.
“Oh, kid, one more thing I meant to tell you,” he told Kaat. “When the game’s tied in the seventh inning, the game’s just starting. You have to learn how to pitch Mickey Mantle differently in the ninth inning than you did in the first inning.