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

As professionals we have a responsibility of providing a good show for the fans. Getting hits and home runs is what they want to see.

Baseball has been the greatest things in my life, but the cameras and the media surrounding baseball have not been fun. It's unnecessary. How many times do they see me stretch? How many times do they see me walk? It is a big concern. If it affected the team in a negative way, I don't know what I would do.

Personally, I don't like the term 'success.' It's too arbitrary and too relative a thing. It's usually someone else's definition, not yours.

You should seek approval from yourself.

I'm anxious to face them (major league pitchers) all, but in reality I'm looking forward most to (Boston's) Pedro Martinez. He was with the major league team that came to Japan in 1996, just before he became a superstar. I'm anxious to see how much he's improved. And I'm anxious to see how much I've improved against him.

I've always prided myself in not reveling in past accomplishments and focusing on future achievement, instead. That's been my career motto.