Quotes

I just felt like Adidas was a brand that really fit me. Not only are they on the field, but off the field stuff.

I just try and keep everything simple.

One and done, Home Run Derby champion. It was a cool experience. I enjoyed it all, but I don't think I really need to go out there and do it again.

I got a job to do on the field.

I think that is one thing I've picked up: follow a routine, be consistent, and everything is going to fall in place. If you are scrambling around, and you are late for stuff, that adds extra stress, and you have to go out there and hit a 97 mph fastball.

There should always be competition. You should never feel comfortable, no matter where you are at. If you are a 10-year veteran, you should not feel comfortable. For me, that kind of just drives me, that kind of unknown of what is going to happen. The unknown is kind of what drives me.

As a kid growing up in California, I collected autographs.

There are some great pitchers in this league. You're going to get fooled sometimes. They're going to get you.

If they are going to nibble and try to go below the zone or off the plate a little bit, I want to try and get a pitch in the zone that I can do damage on.

If I know it's going over the fence, I am going to start jogging and just get around the bases and get back in the dugout.

Ever since I was a little kid, that intrigued me. The game within the game was the biggest thing. A lot of people don't see the little things we do within a game.

I never want to play timid or scared of anything, especially when my pitcher or my teammates are out there going 100 percent.

Ever since I got drafted by the Yankees, I've been working on my swing.

The big thing is, it's about learning which off-speed pitches to swing at. A lot of people say, 'Oh, this guy can't hit a curveball; this guy can't hit an off-speed pitch.' But it's about swinging at the right one. Swing at the hangers. Swing at the ones you can handle.

When you're on the road, fans pay to cheer on their team and boo the other team; that's just part of it. That's what they're supposed to do. I expect it. I think everybody expects that.

For me, the strike zone has always been, If it's something I can drive, it's most likely a strike. I feel like if it's a ball I really can't do much with, it's most likely a ball. So that's just always been my approach.

This is a crazy game we play. You're going to have those times you can't get out, and those times where you can do everything right, and the ball does not fall.

That's why you get three of them. Say you get one that you don't think is a strike, and they call it on you: that's why you get two more.

Some guys, first pitch of the at-bat gets called a strike - maybe it's a ball off or below their knees, and it gets called a strike - and then the next two pitches, they swing at balls in the dirt, and all of a sudden, they're yelling at the umpire about that first pitch. You just swung at two balls in the dirt, buddy.

I needed to go to college. I needed to mature.

When I was younger, I'd always forget stuff. I think there was probably 4-5 times where we'd drive 30 minutes to a town for the baseball tournament, and all of a sudden, I'd get to the field and look in my bag, and I didn't have my cleats. So my dad had to race all the way home to get my cleats and get back before the game started so I could play.

When I was in the West Coast watching the Giants, Rich Aurilia was a guy I always liked.

One thing I really liked about David Winfield, man, just... the way he played the game, and such a class act he was on and off the field.

During the season, I usually work out two or three times a week. I'll do a full-body workout after games. I plan it out the day of.

I really don't like splitting my workouts into lower body one day, upper body the next day - that makes me I feel like I'm working out every day, and I feel like I'm more tired during the season than I need to be.