I didn’t know if I could make it to the big leagues without going through Triple-A.
Beast Mode doesnt make excuses. It doesnt complain. Whatever youre doing, go out there and get it done. Keep pushing. If I have a bad game, I think about what I have to do to return to form. Figure it out, go to sleep, and wake up a new man.
One of the things I’ve done is tell myself I can’t let bad things that happen to me on the field, off the field, whatever, affect me.
I don’t do stuff to be a star. I do it because I feel it’s important for kids, African American kids, to see an African American face that plays baseball.
If I could do it over, I’d want to come up to the big leagues like Mike Trout. He’s exciting and I like watching him.
I’m pretty sure that China is way bigger than the Dominican.
I’ve pretty much grown up to hide my emotions for the most part.
I never want to sit out. I want to play baseball games.
If I’m in the car after a bad game, I may think about ways I need to improve. But the second I reach home, the game’s over. Work doesn’t come inside with me. Same thing in reverse – I don’t bring my personal life into the ballpark. Learning to keep it all separate has made life easier.
I don’t think some athletes understand how big it is to be an athlete, what they can do with just a simple gesture of shaking a kid’s hand. It can make a fan’s day. It can make a fan’s life.
When you think positive, good things happen.