My rookie year, I went into the left-center-field wall. Danny Wright was pitching and had a no-hitter into the seventh against Tampa Bay, and Randy Winn hit a ball into the left-center gap that I ran back and caught into the wall. Separated my shoulder but kept the no-hitter intact.
Then he gave up a hit in the eighth inning.
I think I enjoy watching a good catch more than I enjoy watching myself hit a home run on TV. It’s more exciting. It’s more fun for me because I take pride in playing defense.
The other hitters joke around with me about me taking a hit away from them when you see them during batting practice. Jeter gave me a hard time from the series in New York on the first one I caught going away. He was giving me grief during batting practice and when I was on base.
I think it’s just chemistry with the guys here. We’ve got a great group of guys that enjoys being around each other.
I’d like to see us go all the way to the World Series.
You can understand most of what he (1) says. Sometimes you don’t. Sometimes he’ll come up and say something and walk away, and you’ll turn to the guy next to you and go, “What’d he just say? I didn’t get that one.”
Everybody knows he’s joking and he keeps things loose, but when it’s time for him to put his foot down, there’s no doubt you know who’s in charge.
My dad owns an air conditioning business in Southern California. My mom’s a nurse. Both are very supportive of my baseball. I played on three teams at the same time, and they’d take turns taking me from game to game.
They stressed academics. I had to keep my grades up or my dad wouldn’t let me play baseball.
I think my dad instilled in me hard work. Hard work and stay grounded. I was lucky enough to be around people who stressed the same thing. It’s something that if you were to talk to people I played with in the minor leagues or in college with or high school, they’d tell you that I haven’t changed. I love what I do and I feel lucky to be here.
Pretty simple: Try to see the ball and hit the ball, and go from there.
I feel like I’ve swung the bat a little bit better. I think I spent the first half of the season trying to find what I had last season and I threw it out the window. I didn’t feel real comfortable out of the gate. I got off to a slow start and started searching for things. I was searching for a feeling I had last season instead of trying to hit myself into a good feeling. You can’t try to duplicate things all the time.
If you can’t adjust up here, you’re going to have a short stay.
I think the Cubs definitely have the edge over us in the media market. We joke about it. Earlier in the season, if we win and the Cubbies lose, the Cubbies still have more press in the paper or on the radio shows or whatever. I think everybody notices it, but nobody really cares too much.
I went off a cliff that was 25 feet high and landed on my head and my shoulder and busted my shoulder up (2). I learned it’s not worth doing anymore, at least until I’m done playing.
I don’t venture down to the Strip too much in the off-season (3) unless I have friends in town who want to go. The city’s so big now that it’s not just the Strip. It’s like being in any other city.
I have tons of autographs, baseballs I got signed. I’m a fan, too, just like everybody else. I got Mark McGwire’s autograph when we played St. Louis my first year.
My rookie year, the first time I got to play in front of my friends and family in Anaheim, I went 2-for-5 and hit a home run in my last at-bat in front of everybody I’ve ever known–like 300 people.
They all paid for their tickets.
I dreamt this, but I never imagined any of this would get to come true. I’m a lucky guy to do what I’m doing.
(1): Manager Ozzie Guillen.
(2): In a dirt-bike accident in the winter of 2002.
(3): From his winter home in Las Vegas.
