Obviously I wasn't playing well at the time. But as a player, you lie to yourself. You say, "There's nothing wrong. I'm just not on time [at the plate]." You make something else up because pain is not an option.

I get to kind of pretend I'm going to play baseball. I get to work out and do all the stuff that was part of baseball. I just don't get to play.

Just because you're big doesn't mean you can't be an athlete. And just because you work out doesn't mean you're going to have a 12-pack.

I'm still working out. It keeps me feeling good about things.

I have nothing left to prove. I've already done enough to my neck.

Honestly, right now, I don't want to be around baseball. Not that I don't like it. But I'm having fun right here, hanging around my family and watching my kids' games.

Obviously, I think this [162 games a year four times] caused my early retirement, but I couldn't do it any other way. Just for the record, I never asked for any of the days off in my career.