The Japanese have a strong tendency to suppress their own feelings. That's the Japanese character. They kill their own emotions.

I'm told I either look bigger than I do on television or that I look smaller than I look on television. No one seems to think I look the same size.

I had a dream. And I made that dream come true.

Everybody in the states is so relaxed, and everybody in Japan is so uptight.

Chicks who dig home runs aren't the ones who appeal to me. I think there's sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I'd rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.

People striving for approval from others become phony.

The more that Japanese players go to the big leagues to play and succeed, the more that will serve to inspire young kids in Japan to want to become baseball players when they grow up.