Being a certified medical miracle can make you a grateful man, and on this Thanksgiving, there’s a lot I’m thankful for – a wife that’s still the love of my life, a daughter that makes me smile and a couple of cats that make me laugh.

Good friends and great surgeons saved my life this year. The baseball in Seattle wasn’t great, but mediocre big-league baseball is still pretty damned good.

So here’s a thank you to the game and the characters who inhabit it. And a couple of baseball quotes to make you smile.

“The trouble with baseball is that it’s not played the year round.”
- Gaylord Perry

“Baseball is like church. Many attend, but few understand.”
- Wes Westrum

“When Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, he and all the space scientists were puzzled by an unidentifiable white object. I knew exactly what it was. That was a home run hit off me in 1937 by Jimmy Foxx.”
– Lefty Gomez

“If it comes down to taking care of my mother in her old age and taking care of my centerfielder in his young age, I hope she understands.
- Jeff Smulyan on Ken Griffey Jr.

“Baseball players are smarter than football players. How often do you see a baseball team penalized for too many men on the field?”
- Jim Bouton

“I've come to the conclusion that the two most important things in life are good friends and a good bullpen. “
~Bob Lemon

“The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love.”
~Bryant Gumbel,