Nobody wanted me. Scouts told me to go to school, to forget baseball. Coaches said, 'You're never going to make it.' I appreciated their honesty, because I think when someone tells you something you may not like, you have to use that as fuel for motivation.

A pitcher never gets me out. I get myself out. That's no disrespect to the pitcher, but there should be no excuse for failure. You can't have an excuse to fail.

I have gone from a player who thought he would spend his whole career with one organization to a player who's been with three organizations in a week. It's like rotisserie baseball.

I long for the days when athletes were revered. I want to see the romance return to sports, to see people enjoy the game purely for the game and the players.

I'm not trying to prove anybody wrong, I'm just trying to prove something to myself.

I'm playing baseball because I love it, not because I need the money or attention. That is why I've been so dedicated. I've accomplished a lot of things no one ever thought I could, and I've done it from hard work.

When you're 25, you can eat hamburgers and pizza and drink beer and stay out all night and come out the next day and drink a couple cups of coffee and just play. If I did that today, my heart would stop and I'd need a stretcher and an IV.