One of the best things about my job is that I get to hang around baseball, even though I'm not even playing anymore.

I get to go to the All-Star Game, the playoffs and the World Series. Last week, while working color for ESPN Radio at the American League Division Series between Seattle and Chicago, I got a behind-the-scenes look at a lot of the new stars of baseball -- and a lot of the old ones, many of whom I used to terrorize as a player.

	Frank Thomas led the White Sox to the best record in the American League by hitting .328 with 43 homers and 143 RBI.

It's amazing, since I retired, how nice a lot of guys are towards me. These guys used to hate me. I'm sure some of them used to curse me out when they played against me. Now it's great, no pressure, and they really open up and let me get to know their good sides.

For instance, one of my favorite people now that I'm a member of the media (God, I hate that!) is Mark McLemore.

Once during a brawl with Houston -- and I don't remember how I wound up in the middle of it -- Mark had me in a full nelson, out at second base, eating some turf in Cincinnati. It's funny now -- but not then, when I was not able to move.

He said, "I'm just trying to protect you."

"I don't have anything better to do," I replied. We laughed and joked until it was over. Nice way to meet people, don't you think?

And even now I love being down on the field during batting practice. You learn so many things, and of course it helps in your job. But as a fan of the game it helps you gain a lot more respect for former opponents.

Take the case of big Frank Thomas. During the division series, the media (my guys now!) busted his chops and stupid front-running fans were booing him. Very stupid. Because without Frank, the White Sox wouldn't even have been there. As a player, I wouldn't have given this a thought, but now I see it from a much different perspective.

I got a chance to hang out with Frank and schmooze with my former teammate and see again how much he loves playing the greatest game ever invented. Most players, especially in his position, don't hang around the cage for all of batting practice. But big Frank did, encouraging his teammates, and showed why he is so admired on this Sox team.

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It's amazing, since I retired, how nice a lot of guys are towards me -- these guys used to hate me. I'm sure some of them used to curse me out when they played against me. ”

Five years ago, I got an up-close and personal view of Frank every day. And I still think he is one of the best pure hitters ever to play. But what people can't see is how hard he works at it every day. That's what I'm doing now -- telling you about it.

I love to see a guy like Frank who does not take his gift for granted and works at it every day. He does it because he is smart and knows this: The more you work at it, the better you get.

When we traveled to Seattle, I went out with Joe Oliver, a friend and teammate since rookie ball. We played together for about 12 years, and he hasn't changed one bit. Instead of taking me to some hot spot, we went out to The Toy Works, a video games arcade.

Joe is a great guy, always happy, and whenever his name comes up with any present or former teammate, they have nothing but great things to say about him, myself included.

Oh, yeah -- he's a great catcher too. And I'm sure a lot of you will say, well, it's easy to be happy when you make that kind of money. But I played with these guys before we made a dime and they haven't changed since day one. They really love what they do, and 99 percent of them understand how lucky they are to do what they do.

So I saw some great baseball. But I saw some even better people, and got to hang with them, even if now it can only be for a few days.

That's the thing I miss the most, just hanging with the boys. That was, and is, the best part of my job.