Aaron Judge
When I think about 2017, I feel like it was just another year. It was a whirlwind, but I wouldn't have wanted it to play out any other way. I'm glad I was in New York. There's nowhere else I would rather play, and there's no other group of teammates that I would rather be around.
I have a short time to play this game. I'm trying to get every ounce of it out of my body.
I'm not too worried about stats and stuff like that.
I had a lot of fun playing football and basketball, but deep down, the chess match or cat-and-mouse game between the pitcher and batter in baseball really drew me in. It's a thinking man's game, and for me, nothing can compare to that.
When you go to college the first couple years, and you kind of get beat around, you kind of think about, 'Maybe if I went to pro ball, it would be a little bit better.' Now that I look back on it, I made the right choice.
That's one thing that's a passion for me: teaching.
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.
I never want to play timid or scared of anything, especially when my pitcher or my teammates are out there going 100 percent.
44 is a number I really like.
I just like music.
If someone throws you a good slider, you're not going to hit it. You've got to always hunt those ones that kind of pop up or hang thigh-high or up.
Even though it feels like you are so far away from the big leagues, my love for the game kept me motivated to get through the hard times in the minors.
I've just got to stay patient, take my walks when I can, hunt the mistakes, and get on base.
Any time you play shortstop or center field, the majority of the baseballs are hit in the middle of the field.
I kind of wish I would have been able to see the old Yankee Stadium after seeing the new one.
There should always be competition. You should never feel comfortable, no matter where you are at. If you are a 10-year veteran, you should not feel comfortable. For me, that kind of just drives me, that kind of unknown of what is going to happen. The unknown is kind of what drives me.
For me, the strike zone has always been, If it's something I can drive, it's most likely a strike. I feel like if it's a ball I really can't do much with, it's most likely a ball. So that's just always been my approach.
The biggest thing for me is I want to be consistent.
As a kid growing up in California, I collected autographs.
During the season, I usually work out two or three times a week. I'll do a full-body workout after games. I plan it out the day of.
You can never come into the spring feeling like you've got a guaranteed spot. Once you do that, you kind of get stagnant, and someone's going to pass you up.
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.
It doesn't really matter the score or the situation: I got a job to do.
Repeating, trying to repeat success - it never gets easier.
When you're on the road, fans pay to cheer on their team and boo the other team; that's just part of it. That's what they're supposed to do. I expect it. I think everybody expects that.
I needed to go to college. I needed to mature.
I've always had that mindset of, 'OK, I may be hot this month or doing really well this month, but don't get too high, don't get too low - just enjoy it.' Don't ride the rollercoaster, basically. I always thought about it like, I'm not going to an amusement park, I'm going to a baseball field.
They just brought it up to me and said, 'Hey, this is what we're going to do.' They're going to put out a section and call it Judge's Chambers and give them little judge outfits, and we'll see what happens. I think it turned out great.
If I know it's going over the fence, I am going to start jogging and just get around the bases and get back in the dugout.
I love the city of New York. It's kind of fun. I grew up in the country, so I'm getting a little change of pace. The city has been great.
I just felt like Adidas was a brand that really fit me. Not only are they on the field, but off the field stuff.
Fighting for a job - that's been my mindset every Spring Training.
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.
That's why we play. That's why we train. That's why we do everything in the offseason. It is to win a World Series.
If they are going to nibble and try to go below the zone or off the plate a little bit, I want to try and get a pitch in the zone that I can do damage on.
I talked to a few schools about playing football, but I had already pretty much made my mind up. I fell in love with baseball at a young age, and I knew that that's what I wanted to do.
Pitchers made an adjustment to me. It's up to me to come up with an answer.
A lot of people love to watch the Yankees.
The New York Yankees' organization - they train us well from the get-go. They tell us how to handle everything.
Ever since I got drafted by the Yankees, I've been working on my swing.
The biggest thing is, you don't hit the good sliders; you just hit the mistakes. That's what my thing has always been: Just keep hunting mistakes.
When I was in the West Coast watching the Giants, Rich Aurilia was a guy I always liked.
The ups and downs, that's baseball life. That's what I live for, play for.
That's why you get three of them. Say you get one that you don't think is a strike, and they call it on you: that's why you get two more.
That mindset never changes. It should never change. If you've been in the league for 14 years or been in the league not even a day, you should have that mindset that you're going to go out there and prove yourself and earn a spot.
I really don't like splitting my workouts into lower body one day, upper body the next day - that makes me I feel like I'm working out every day, and I feel like I'm more tired during the season than I need to be.
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 know I wouldn't be a New York Yankee if it wasn't for my mom: the guidance she gave me as a kid growing up, knowing the difference from right and wrong, how to treat people and how to go the extra mile and put in extra work, all that kind of stuff.
That's what it's all about - postseason baseball.