Obviously, the only reason I'm where I am is because God has gifted me and He has seen fit to put me where I am. I have to honor that by using my influence and my status on the team and in the game of baseball for good and to His purpose.

I almost feel guilty. The physical toll is tremendous. Im exhausted and I only played nine innings.

My father always told me that to be successful at anything, whether it was baseball or tiddlywinks, you have to be willing to pay the price. You have to be willing to do more than the kid down the street if you want to be better than he is.

The only way that we can truly have a purpose and an enriching life experience is to do all things in Christ and through the power of Christ. What happens when we're all about doing good works and we're doing that outside of the power of Christ is that we end up getting the glory and the whole point of this deal is that God gets the glory. That verse beautifully illustrates that point.

I want to be a guy who produces runs, who drives in runs, who can beat you with a single or can beat you with a home run, who's just a tough out.

I've always liked doubles. When you scald the ball on a line to the gap, I think that's about as close to a perfect swing as you can get.

If you gave me a choice between being married and being a baseball player, that's a no-brainer. I would be married any day. I just love it.