The first musical sound I ever heard was from a banjo. My father played, and I was an infant in a crib, and something just stayed with me from those early days.
I've told everyone that I grew old on 'Hee Haw,' but I could've grown old without it.
I think, basically, we didn't hurt anyone. We were out there having a good time. You can go and get educated, but you can come to 'Hee Haw' and get another education.
A lot of the big stars of today got their beginnings and their first network and national exposure from 'Hee Haw.'
I used to rejuvenate in 'Hee Haw.'
'Hee Haw' was a concept that nobody (including myself) thought would ever succeed.
The show changed my life in so many remarkable ways. Now in my 82nd year, I have been blessed with a wonderful 67-year career with 'Hee Haw' as the icing on the cake.
First and foremost, I am most proud of how 'Hee Haw' did its part to help pave the way for country music to burst from its regional roots to remarkable worldwide popularity.
The only thing that kept us from going bigger worldwide was the language barrier. All the corn that we did on 'Hee Haw,' it was hard to translate into their slang.
We draft mostly high school kids and we have one of the finest, if not the finest, player development programs and coaching staffs and we teach our players the right way to play. We also have a game plan in scouting, and there are certain types of players that we look for.
So I'm going to tell you, it's going to be a good year. There are good players all over this country, and it is our job as a scouting department to find them, draft them, sign them, develop them, and help us to continue to win championships. So it's going to be a good year.
As a scouting department, with the confidence we have in our player development, if a guy has the potential that we think they have and the makeup and they stay healthy, we think they will be a productive Major Leaguer. We take a lot of pride in that.
Humor is a blessing to me. My earliest recollections are of looking at something and seeing the lighter side. But it's always spontaneous. I couldn't write a comedy skit for someone else.
