We all worked hard to do whatever we could to help this team win, and guys came up with big hits in a lot of situations. And it’s just special for me to be thought of as MVP and become an MVP in that group.
We don’t have any egos on this team. I think that was what was really special about this club.
It doesn’t bother me at all(1) because I think all year we’ve been kind of counted out and been picked to finish fourth in the division and kind of been the underdog the whole way, and I think we finally surprised a lot of people. I think a lot of people enjoy watching this team and what we’ve accomplished.
He’ll say whatever is on his mind(2), and he keeps everybody loose. He wants you to go out and have fun, stay positive, no matter if you’re down.And he just– he knows how to win.
He’s one of a kind(3). I haven’t seen too many people come out and just, especially in this kind of weather, throw 100 m.p.h. with some cut on it. I had a chance to face him the other day in a simulated game, and I’m just glad he’s on my team.
This is a totally different type of team than any other team I’ve been on. This is the way you’re supposed to play the game. What we have here is pretty good: speed at the top of the lineup, a balanced mix of power and good defense, we’ll hit-and-run, we’ll do the little things. I mean, that’s the way you play the game.
I think this staff is a little bit better(4). More experienced. I think we have more depth in our starting staff and our bullpen. I think those guys were a lot younger, and even though we made the playoffs when I was there three times, we still had that inexperience that we couldn’t get past the first round, didn’t know what it took to do that. I think this staff is a little bit older, wiser, and I think they’re more big-game pitchers than the guys in Oakland.
I’m from Vacaville, Calif. My parents moved away, so I don’t really have too much contact there. There were good times there. I only played baseball there for one year.
My dad played basketball. He played in the NBA for two years(5). My mom ran track. My sister played college ball.
I didn’t watch too much of it(6). I was too busy playing from sport to sport to sport–baseball, football, basketball–so I was pretty much involved in other stuff.
I’m not a superstitious guy. Everybody has their routine in the batter’s box that they do before a pitch. I stick with doing the same things. I don’t eat a certain food, drive in the fast lane the whole way to the park. I just continue to do the same routine every day.
There was one guy who ate a candy bar, and if he continued to get hits, he ate that same candy bar. He gained a few pounds, but I would’ve done it too.
My rookie year(7). When you’re a rookie, going to the World Series your first year, you don’t really know what to expect. You’re just having fun and jumping around and doing all kinds of things. You don’t really understand what it means to be in the World Series. It was pretty cool and fun being around a lot of good guys in Atlanta.
Players can play 10 years and never have the chance to get to the playoffs or go to the World Series.
The whole off-season, I had a choice to make of what team I’d go to and where I thought I was going to best fit. I just sat down and looked at, first of all, what kind of pitching staff we had, because in order to win and get to the playoffs, you need to have pitchers. Pitching always beats good hitting.
There were a couple teams that came in at the last minute that kind of blew Chicago out of the water, which a lot of people wouldn’t have turned down. But my heart was already set, and I gave my word to Kenny Williams that I was coming to Chicago.
I just thought on paper we were going to be pretty good. It all starts with pitching and defense, and when I saw the pitching staff we had, I knew we’d be pretty good.
But you never expect a team to get 99 or 100 wins.
It’s just a great feeling.
1: Low TV ratings for the World Series.
2: Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.
3: Sox closer Bobby Jenks.
4: Compared with the staff headed by Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito when he played with Oakland.
5: With the Detroit Pistons.
6: The World Series, when he was a kid.
7: In 1995 with the Atlanta Braves.
