'Animal' was my NICKNAME in HIGH SCHOOL.

One day, the infielders were having a PRETTY bad time and were making some bad THROWS to me at first base. After digging a few out of the dirt, JOE Orengo called over to me, 'Atta boy, JOHN, you look like a big cat.' Some of the writers overheard the remark and asked Joe about it LATER. The nickname has stuck with me ever since.