Oddly enough, some of the least welcoming people when I started out were some of the beat writers covering the teams. This was true both locally and among the visiting press. They seemed to me to be more protective of tradition than the baseball men. There were a few beat writers that I think were rooting for my failure and would have tripped me going out the door. But among most of the baseball men there was the more open-minded practical view of "We’ll wait and see if you can help." I felt they were giving me an opportunity to earn my position, and that’s all I wanted.