Simmons gave credit to former players who paved the way for free agency, including Curt Flood, Catfish Hunter and Andy Messersmith, and saluted unappreciated baseball lifers such as scout Gordon Lakey and minor-league instructor George Kissell, a St. Louis Cardinals legend. Simmons even ended his speech with a quote from a Beatles song: “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”
