I can honestly say it took two full years for me to get over the fact that I was no longer a baseball player.

It took me a while to figure that out and to realize what a gift that I had been given. And when I finally did, I dedicated myself to be the best pitcher I possibly could be, for as long as I possibly could be.

And that's what makes this a great game, is the support and the commitment that the fans give the game.

I like to refer to my years with the Angels as the foundation of my career.

My job is to give my team a chance to win.

And when I went to Houston, they had a conditioning coach by the name of Gene Coleman. And that was the first time I had gone to an organization that had a program with a weight room and designed specifically for pitchers.

I always thought that there was going to be life after baseball, and so I designed that in my life I would have other interests after baseball that I would be able to step into. And I didn't realize the grip that baseball had on me and on my family.