When people get placed upon a pedestal - when they start chasing after that person on the pedestal - they become mannequin-like.

Some people enjoy taking a light stroll in the morning and that gives them relief and that sort of feeling. That is what I gain by practicing, by swinging the bat.

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 love baseball, but being here (in the United States), I've been able to play golf every day. I can't play in Japan because every course has caddies, and the caddies all want autographs and don't want to let me golf.

I think if you look at the friends, the kinds of relationships I have, I am not the kind of guy who has many shallow relationships. I think you could say I am the kind of guy who has a few relationships, but those are very deep.

When you mail Ichiro something from the States, you only have to use that name on the address and he gets it (in Japan). He's that big.

When I look at the records and see where my place in the history of the game (in Japan with Orix) might be, I guess you could say it was a good decision to come here. It's not just me. Maybe I'll have an effect on others in the international part of the game.