Whether your name is (Lou) Gehrig or (Cal) Ripken, (Joe) DiMaggio or (Jackie) Robinson, or that of some youngster who picks up his bat or puts on his glove, you are challenged by the game of baseball to do your very best day in and day out. That's all I've ever tried to do.

I think baseball has moved on in many ways and the focus on the competitions on the field is really what the game is all about. It seems to be healthy. It seems more people are watching it.

The best thing you can do in the whole world is to play baseball. That's a lucky job... The passion for baseball is always going to be there.

There is somebody in our lives that we could call the Energizer Bunny and we admire for those qualities.

The last thing you want to do is go down in the history of All-Star game competition as the only injury (his nose was broken by Roberto Hernandez) sustained during the team picture.

I take pride in the fact that you are able to make some good contributions to the sport at certain times.

Sometimes I think sportsmanship is a little bit forgotten in place of the individual attention.