Know your cliches, and use them well

Normally when a baseball player is interviewed following a walk-off hit, you get your standard cliches such as "I was waiting for a pitch I liked, and when I saw it I just tried to put my best swing on it" or "I just want to thank my teammates for putting me in a position to win the game."

Then, there was Sunday's post-game interview with Toronto's Munenori Kawasaki after he drove in the game-winning runs in the Blue Jays' 6-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Yes he did use the "I want to thank my teammates" cliche, but it was the way he said it that made it special.

There is also the fact that Kawasaki is holding a small book where he appears to have written some English baseball phrases. It brings to mind this scene from "Bull Durham" (warning, there is some swearing):

The best thing is, Kawasaki plays the game with the same joy and enthusiasm he exhibited in his post-game interview. That will take Kawasaki a long way in baseball.