"There are sluggers and hitters, and then there are ballplayers. Bill Mueller is a ballplayer. When he was still in the minors, Jack Hiatt (Giants director of player development) told me to keep an eye out for Mueller. He said, 'He won't thrill you at first. He doesn't run real fast, he doesn't hit the ball real far, and he doesn't throw real hard, but he'll grow on you because he's a ballplayer. He knows the game. He rarely makes mistakes. He'll walk, steal a base on occasion, hit the ball out of the park on occasion, play a good third base, start rallies, keep rallies going and get on base a lot.' That makes him a ballplayer, and there is no greater compliment one player can give another than that." - Giants Manager Dusty Baker