My father always taught me to appreciate what you're fortunate to have and give back to those who need it. No part of our society is more important than the children, especially the ones who need our help.

I think I have a passion for playing the game. I love to play, and I want to play at a high level. You have to do the right things in order to continue at that level.

I've tried, at every step in life, to find a lesson. And accepting criticism with the same grace that you do the applause is something every young athlete needs to learn. ... I think it served me well to learn how to handle everything that came with the game's ups and downs. Some people call it growing another layer of skin. I just call it growing up.

It's nice to feel the fans are behind you. You shouldn't concern yourself with things like that - but it does matter.

You need to feel that the game is important to you. Lose that feeling and you lose your edge. There's no faking that kind of emotion. You can't invent the feeling. It's got to be natural, real.

Swing hard in case you hit it.

As a team, you need to come from behind every once in awhile just to do it. Good for the attitude. It makes it exciting. And when everybody knows you have to throw it... that makes it fun too.