There's three things that as a professional athlete you want. You want to get to the big leagues, and I accomplished that. Winning a World Series ring, I got that. And then getting to the Hall of Fame. That's everybody's dream. Every athlete, they want to be up there in the Hall of Fame, mentioned with the greatest players to ever play this game.

I thought about it a lot (losing the 2002 NLCS). It's something you have to go home and wrap it up because if you keep thinking about it, you're going to take that to Spring Training and you're not going to be able to concentrate on your work.

I believe it is my responsibility to do what I can for children and people with Down syndrome as well as in my native Dominican Republic.

What I lose today I can't make up tomorrow. I have to do it today.

I try to spend as much time as possible with God and my family. That's more important than anything I'm doing in baseball.

I'm a really smart player. If you tell me something, I get it quickly. If there is something wrong with my hitting, tell me what's wrong and I'll pick it up right away. That's the best thing I have going for me, my ability to listen to a coach and fix what I'm doing wrong.

I have five young children, and I take being a role model very seriously.