I think that is one thing I've picked up: follow a routine, be consistent, and everything is going to fall in place. If you are scrambling around, and you are late for stuff, that adds extra stress, and you have to go out there and hit a 97 mph fastball.
When I'm lifting heavy, doing squats, and doing upper-body workouts, it's mostly about core and stability. But I'll still do deadlifts. I also do tire workouts with these big 600-pound tires, flipping them and stuff like that.
There are some great pitchers in this league. You're going to get fooled sometimes. They're going to get you.
When I was in the West Coast watching the Giants, Rich Aurilia was a guy I always liked.
Ever since I was a little kid, that intrigued me. The game within the game was the biggest thing. A lot of people don't see the little things we do within a game.
My dad played junior college basketball, and he always showed me clips of Michael Jordan.
Music, I feel like, affects people's moods.
For me, all my negative thoughts that I have about, 'How did you miss that pitch? Why did you miss that pitch? You shouldn't have missed that pitch.' I just kind of sit there and kind of crush it up, and once I'm done doing that... I just kind of toss it aside.
I kind of wish I would have been able to see the old Yankee Stadium after seeing the new one.
That's your dream, to play professional baseball. When you get the opportunity like that, getting drafted - especially by Oakland, a California team, pretty close to home - it was tempting. At the time, I just didn't think I was ready or mature enough mentally or physically to start pro ball.
I just take it one day at a time, try to forget about what I did the day before. Go out there like every day is Opening Day.
I have a short time to play this game. I'm trying to get every ounce of it out of my body.
Pitchers made an adjustment to me. It's up to me to come up with an answer.
If I keep taking my good swings, swing at the right pitches, good things will happen.
The big thing is, it's about learning which off-speed pitches to swing at. A lot of people say, 'Oh, this guy can't hit a curveball; this guy can't hit an off-speed pitch.' But it's about swinging at the right one. Swing at the hangers. Swing at the ones you can handle.
Some guys, first pitch of the at-bat gets called a strike - maybe it's a ball off or below their knees, and it gets called a strike - and then the next two pitches, they swing at balls in the dirt, and all of a sudden, they're yelling at the umpire about that first pitch. You just swung at two balls in the dirt, buddy.
I do a lot of planks. I feel like the plank is the most underrated core workout; that's one of my go-to moves.
I'd rather be in a good position in the playoffs and holding up a World Series trophy than holding up an MVP trophy.
You have to have a great fielder at shortstop, and you've got to have a guy that has good range and good hands in center field.
Any time you play shortstop or center field, the majority of the baseballs are hit in the middle of the field.