He's (George Steinbrenner) the one who gave me a chance to get to the World Series. This is where I wanted to be all along. We had a couple of nice offers from other teams, but I tied my agents' hands. I told them I wanted to be a Yankee.

When you have a chance to take the ball for the world champs, you take the ball.

My only day off is the day I pitch.

I was pitching on all adrenaline and challenging them. I was throwing the ball right down the heart of the plate.

The reality is that my stepfather was like a father to me and watching him die from a sudden heart attack was one of the hardest things I have ever gone through.

Going to Omaha for the College World Series - the people there are tremendous - huge crowds and a lot of excitement. I still remember those days - you make a lot of friends that you never forget when you win a championship like that.

I wasn't scared (during his first at-bat). I just told them (Mo Vaughn & Kevin Mitchell') to give me all that hockey equipment (forearm pad & shin guard respectively).