Winning the World Series in 2002. (1)
The bottom line is you play for a championship, and when you don’t win the championship, you come up short, and that’s something you don’t like.
It’s pretty intense. (2) It’s fun to play. You love it when the fans get involved. They’re so behind every single pitch. I’ve never been a part of something so big to the fans of this big-time magnitude.
I know they (3) yelled a lot at me last year, but I can’t remember anything, to tell you the truth.
Both my parents were school teachers. School was definitely very important. They were very strict, very discipline-oriented. You had to follow the rules and try to be the best you could every single day. They definitely instilled a work ethic into myself and my brothers and sisters.
If you didn’t make the highest grade in the class, my dad was going to be in that class and pretty much embarrass you in front of the whole class. We couldn’t get away with anything.
Growing up, my dad lived in New York. He was hanging around the gym and he got the chance to be the ballboy for Lou Carnesecca at high school. That’s how my dad go this nickname “Whitey” because of the blond hair. His real name is Herbert.
I was born with a stomach blockage where I could not digest any of my food. I was throwing everything up. My mom kept taking me to the doctor and the doctor kept saying there was nothing wrong with me. This is a little over a month into it, and my mom said, “No, we’re seeing another doctor.” As soon as that doctor saw me, they put me into surgery. When they got done with the surgery, I was in a coma for about five days. I don’t remember any of this. This is what they tell me.
My oldest brother and two sisters have all lost their kidneys but have received kidney transplants. They’re doing perfectly well. They’re going on, living their lives.
When we first found out, it was my sister, and we all went to get tested. We found out one of my other brothers and my sister had the same disease, so they were going to lose them, but we were under the age of 18, so we were not allowed to donate. They were very fortunate to get on the donor list and get kidneys from people who passed away.
My father this past year, he lost his kidneys. Fortunately, we had a family friend who donated one of her kidneys to my dad last August. It’s taking great.
My dad wouldn’t let me and my brother donate because my sister has two boys who will probably have some sort of kidney problems and will probably have to have a kidney transplant later on in life, so they wanted me and my brother to save ours for them.
I’m very fortunate. In this game, it doesn’t matter how tall you are. If you’re able to play this game, it allows you to play, unlike some of the other sports.
When I first signed and I was in Lowell, Mass., I walked in, and the GM for the club thought I was the batboy.
I’ve always thrown that way. I hate it. I don’t like the way it looks. I won’t watch myself throw. It looks horrible, but it’s the only way I know how to throw.
The main thing is to find a way to win a World Series.
(1): With the Angels, his best baseball moment.
(2): The Cubs-Cards rivalry.
(3): Cubs fans.
