One of the hardest parts of practice is the criticism a player takes from his coaches. Some players think a coach has it in for them when a flaw in style is pointed out ... I know that when things start going wrong, for one, I get the coach to keep his eye on me to see what I'm suddenly doing wrong. I can't see it or I wouldn't be doing it in the first place.

I played with the Birmingham Black Barons. I was making 500 at 14. That was a lot of money in those days.

I think I was programmed to do good things when I came into the majors. I knew how to play.

Defense to me is the key to playing baseball.

Maybe I was born to play ball. Maybe I truly was.

When I got to professional ball I used to play 150 games every year. It depends on how many games there was.

Congratulations to Alex Rodriguez on his 660th home run, milestones in baseball are meant to be broken and I wish him continued success throughout his career.