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.

I wanted the challenge of competing against the best players in the world.

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

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

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.

You should seek approval from yourself.

I didn't know I hit that way (.625 with runners in scoring position). Maybe not knowing is my secret. If I chased numbers, maybe I wouldn't have as good results.