People tried to test me (in 1999) and I came up with some pretty good throws. Everybody on the team calls me 'Bazooka' now. That's kind of like a nickname I gave myself.

It's an individual sport (golf), so it's the exact opposite of baseball. If you hit a bad shot, you can't say, 'Well, this happened.' It's just you. It's your shot. You can't point the finger at anybody but yourself.

There were so many Cuban-Americans upset that we were going to Cuba and I was curious to see why they were so angry, and anti-Castro. I found out as soon as we got there. The people were treated terrible. The conditions were terrible. I can see why people risk their lives and limbs to get out. (Fidel Castro) lives like a king and won't help anybody, and has everybody scared to death. Nobody lives a normal life. It was still a good experience, but I thought we should just play that one game.

It's going to be tough (winning the MVP Award). I'm not really considered a media darling.

When you talk about locker room betting, we bet on everything... It's no different than anyone else's office pool. Money changes hands in the locker room; it's whatever you want.

I've been treated there (Camden Yards in Baltimore) just like everywhere else: you got everyone booing for you. I take that as a compliment.

Some people are saying it's a slap in the face for me to go to a competitor, but it also was a slap in my face that they would go out and trade for Matt Williams, especially when my situation was unsure.