That was one of the things my agent and I talked about — not only was it a great deal financially to come here, but how special it would be if you were part of a club that hasn’t won a World Series in a hundred years.
There were a number of other places I would not have gone for more money. The last thing that I wanted to do was be on a club and it’s July and you’re pretty much out of it by then.
I liked a lot of the guys on the Braves staff that they had over there when I was coming up and really starting to learn about pitching and how many ways there were to be successful.
Football was my first sport. As a kid, I wanted to end up playing in the NFL, but I was a little too small and not quite fast enough.
I was a 49ers fan as a kid and my favorite player was Ronnie Lott. I liked playing defense and I liked the way he played. He was a very aggressive hitter. He got you pumped up. You’d watch the game hoping that a receiver would come across the middle and get drilled by him.
I grew up in a small mountain town in Northern California called Oakhurst. I went to Yosemite High School, which is inside of an hour from Yosemite National Park. I love where I grew up. I was really fortunate that I was able to be around a lot of things that I love. There were mountains and water and snow and great seasons. A lot of open space.
My first major adjustment to that was when I came up with the Yankees and spent time there and lived in the city. That was definitely a big adjustment, but I enjoyed it. I knew that was a place I’d never live the rest of my life.
My mom, for the most part, was a stay-at-home mom. She had a job for a while working at the hospital. My dad was a roofer. I grew up doing that a little bit and realized at a young age that that was too hard of work and not enough pay.
I got a good bonus to sign with the Dodgers. I think I was ready to go. I put the majority of the bonus away and took care of some of the payments I needed to pay. I got a car. I put most of it away because when you’re young there’s no guarantee you’re going to make it in the game.
It took me a couple days to get over it when I was traded from the Dodgers to the Expos. I didn’t really want to go. I’d been called up to Triple A for a month in the Dodgers system and I wanted to make it to the big leagues with the Dodgers. I guess you kind of learn young the way that the game works. There’s no guarantees. I’ve been traded I don’t know how many times, and there’s a little bit of you that becomes numb to it.
That was a big deal. (1) At the time I thought it might be my only chance. Sometimes it’s hard to get a second look or a long look, so I wanted to do something to impress and show them that I was capable of playing at that level. My mom was able to fly out and see the game. I ended up striking out 10 guys in 6 2/3 against Boston.
They’re both incredibly special places. (2) The only thing we haven’t done here is win a championship, and they’ve had a few over there.
The front office and the management have given us a chance to win. Now it’s up to us.
(1): His first AL start for the Yankees.
(2): Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium.
