Any time I’ve taken the mound, it’s always been the old Samson-and-Goliath story written about me.
Tiger Woods, Larry Bird, Wayne Gretzky, a pitcher just before a game, I would imagine they all have nervous energy. But as you perform, the nervous energy dissipates and you start to relax and you start to do what you do best.
I expect to win. I’ve never been content with anything I’ve ever done.
Nolan Ryan helped me with baseball, and my dad passing away gave me a bigger heart.
I had a million-dollar arm, but I wasn’t thinking enough about how to be a pitcher.
When I’m healthy, I can still pitch. I know I can still pitch at that level and get the results that I want.
A lot of heavyweights, with the exception of a few Eastern Europe fighters, they really look like being a heavyweight is just like, who can eat the most Pizza Hut and McDonalds.
Greg Maddux is probably the best pitcher in all of baseball along with Roger Clemens. He’s much more intelligent than I am because he doesn’t have a 95 or 98 mph fastball. I would tell any pitcher who wants to be successful to watch him, because he’s the true definition of a pitcher.
I had a long conversation with Steve Carlton. He told me that on the days he pitched, he felt it was his responsibility to make everyone around him better, to lift his teammates. Thats what I try to do.
I learned a lot from not having success, and realizing when you do have success, how hard it is to maintain it, and what you have to do to maintain it.
I’m tired of people questioning me because of my age. If you looked at my numbers and watched me throw and covered my birthdate, would age be an issue?
Maybe I’ve lost a little, but I think everyone does over time. People have been writing that I’m getting old every year, and eventually they’re going to be right. There’s nobody in this game that’s doing the same things they once did in the peak years of their career.
People who say they’re not nervous – I would be kind of curious to see how successful you are at what you do and how long you’ve done it. And what is success in your eyes? Have you separated yourself from everyone else in that craft? Or have you settled amongst the pack?
It’s hard to mix with a crowd when you’re walking down the hallway and everybody else is a foot shorter. I remember hanging out with my friends, like at the mall, and thinking people were staring at me and talking about me. It made me turn inside myself. I became more shy and quiet.
I would think flying would be pretty cool. You would be able to fly away from all your enemies and get where you’re going much faster. But being invisible? You probably wouldn’t use that for the good of man.
The word ‘potential’ used to hang over me like a cloud.
I listened to all types of music, and obviously when I got to Seattle I was very much aware of the music scene there.
I threw a lot of balls and walked a lot of batters. Not something I’m proud of, but something I learned from.
I’ve refined my mechanics, refined my pitches. I’ve gotten more confidence, and I’ve gotten more determination. I’ve got a better idea what I’m doing out there.
When you win, you want more of it. You can’t win enough.