You must be present to win.

My mother's the most special person in my life ... I consider her my MVP: Most Valuable Parent.

Not one day goes by when I don't remind myself of how grateful I am for those who came before me over the last 25 years. When I see players like Mike Schmidt and Johnny Bench, I thank them.

Why do people sing Take Me Out to The Ballgame when they're already there?

It is hard to ignore that is reality. But, at the same time, it still comes down to sound baseball decisions, farm systems and then execution on the field by the players. There are a lot of components to that (other) than just saying it is the highest salary.

I want to build a positive image that will last my career.

Playing the game was the easy part. The real work was in the preparation.