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).

I wish there was a bar I could send opposing teams to and get them hammered or something - I could tell my buddies in New York to leave their places open or something. Playing for the Yankees, guys come at you extremely hard. I have to be ready or I'll be embarrassed

If someone met me on a game day, he wouldn't like me. The days in between, I'm the goodest guy you can find.

I'd be cheating everyone here, the staff and rest of my teammates, if I wasn't able to stay on top of my work. It was almost like therapy, to come back and get in an environment I'm comfortable with.

I had to will my way through that game. Sometimes, it takes more than talent or more than a 95-mile-an-hour fastball. You have to will it.

It's pretty simple, the way I look at it. I became a Hall of Famer here (in New York), with my numbers here and what I've done here, and hopefully three-hundred will be another big part of that. When (former Red Sox general manager Dan) Duquette said that I was done, if I'd have taken his advice and went home, I wouldn't have been a Hall of Famer. So it's a no-brainer. It's definitely pretty easy. Reggie (Jackson) spent five years here, and this will be five for me.

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