You never had the opportunity to play with some of the great ballplayers, but being that close around them, and being in the same category, was a great feeling, to feel that vibe of all the best players who played the game.

All I'm asking for is what I want.

It gave me no chance. He (Nolan Ryan) just blew it (strikeout #5,000) by me. But its an honor. I'll have another paragraph in all the baseball books. I'm already in the books three or four times.

To all the kids out there: Follow your dream. Believe in your dream. Because dreams do come true.

My dream was to play football for the Oakland Raiders. But my mother thought I would get hurt playing football, so she chose baseball for me. I guess moms do know best.

Let's see, for breakfast Rickey will have bacon and eggs, and grits if I can get 'em.

I patterned myself after Reggie Jackson. I wanted to have that same swing and hit some homeruns. When I was down in A-ball, I was trying to be Reggie Jackson and I was striking out all the time. And I was like, 'This isn't the way Reggie is doing it, so I got to change.'