It was a brilliant idea to have The New York Times create a series of interviews of a wide range of celebrities who were allowed to have “the last word” before those who compose obituaries go to work. The definitive take on great lives, The Last Word is a series of intimate and insightful interviews with notable subjects that are kept confidential until after the subject’s death.

Bob Feller offers an excellent case in point. He was one of the greatest baseball pitchers ever to play the game. He began his major league career as a teenager in 1936, throwing a fastball the game has not seen since. A radar gun once clocked his fastball at 106 mph.

He was interviewed by Matthew Orr on December 15, 2010. His video-interview lasts about twelve minutes.

Robert William Andrew Feller (November 3, 1918 – December 15, 2010), nicknamed “The Heater from Van Meter”, “Bullet Bob”, and “Rapid Robert”, was an American baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians. Feller pitched from 1936 to 1941 and from 1945 to 1956, interrupted by a four-year engagement in the United States Navy. In a career spanning 570 games, Feller pitched 3,827 innings and posted a win–loss record of 266–162, with 279 complete games, 44 shutouts, and a 3.25 earned run average (ERA).

Here is a direct link a collection of video-interviews (including Bob Feller’s) you’ll be glad you set aside some time to watch.