It's not like I'm an introvert. You get to know me, I can have a conversation with you. But in front of the media, I'm probably more of a quiet guy.

As a first baseman, hitting home runs is what's expected of me. But I don't really try to hit home runs.

If you write in the paper 'Lee stinks,' that's not going to affect me. I'll just laugh. And if you write 'Derrek Lee is the best player in the league,' that won't affect me either. I'll laugh.

I felt I was good in basketball but I wasn't a blue-chip prospect.

I miss basketball every now and then.

Defense is something I take pride in. I feel it's just as important as offense. They should have RBIs for defensive plays.

If they watch me play, people will say I'm not into it or whatever. That's okay. I kind of like it. People don't know how much work I'm putting into it. They don't need to know.