Trust me, I play the game for the fans, my family and myself.Collection: Trust
Everybody goes through some tough times in their life, no matter what you do. Man, I've had my tough times.
Sometimes you just don't feel the same everyday, it doesn't matter what you do, but when you have people looking forward to seeing you perform for them, that puts you in the mood, and that's natural in Boston. That's why it's such a special place to play.
Through the years I've been getting better and better and better, and it's what you learn though the seasons.
Sometimes when you're fighting, fighting, fighting, the mind needs some time off and you regroup and get back to normal.
Everybody has something to prove each year. Everybody has a responsibility in this game. Even the batboy.
I showed people that it's not about guessing what people can do. It's about saying, 'Here, show me what you can do.'
A lot of people write books not at the end of their career. Why you gotta wait until then? When you're momentum's going, that's when people really want to get to know about you.
If I can't hit at a high level, I won't play, and I know there comes a point where my body won't be able to do that.
I just love the feeling from the fans and when I'm walking on deck I can hear people screaming and wishing you the best. That puts you into the game more than anything.
I know in my situation, my mind works more than everything else. I've been like that my whole career.
My mom, she wasn't like a baseball mother who knew everything about the game. She just wanted me to be happy with what I was doing.
My whole career, my swing has always been the most important thing to me. Even when I'm taking a shower, I work on my swing.
You don't get better as you get older in your career. It's not natural to have your best years late in your career. So I'm trying to do whatever I can to keep my body feeling good for as long as I can.
I'm the same guy I've always been. I'm the same guy now as when I was hitting 50 home runs. I don't change.
I'm the kind of a player who, if you give me something good to hit, I'm going to swing at it. Otherwise, there's nothing else you can do.
You can't say that being a fan is more serious, because players are trying to do better in order to get paid better.
Whatever country you go to, you need to definitely follow the rules. So I believe it's very important for people, wherever they go, any immigrant should know or should try to learn something about the culture.
I start thinking about life after death. I've got to quit thinking about it because it's very deep. Very deep. Sometimes you start thinking about it, and you don't feel like you want to be alive, so I don't like to get all quiet.
Life is a challenge that you need. There's things in life that are going to throw you into the ground, but if you learn how to get up, that means you are not a quitter.Collection: Mean
My timing’s a little off. But I’m about to get hotter than Jamaica in the middle of August.Collection: August
It doesn't matter if we are down 3-0. We just have got to keep the faith like that one piece you were saying in "Keep on Going," because the game is not over till the last out.Collection: Games
This is our f---g city. And nobody is going to dictate our freedom.Collection: Cities
I'm not thinking home run, I just want to put a good swing on the ball. When you go looking for home runs, you get off of your swing. So you don't think of homers when you go up to the plate.Collection: Running
They pick me [to be tested for steroids] every time. I don't know why. I don't know if it's because I'm a big guy, or what, but all I know is all they are going to find is a lot of rice and beans.Collection: Guy
I swing hard all the time. That's what I've done my whole life-hit.Collection: Sports
The DOCF all started when I made a trip to a local hospital in the Dominican Republic. I was visiting children who had received life-saving heart care operations. I couldn't help but think that in another life, one of these kids could be my own son. If it wasn't for baseball, I may have remained in the Dominican Republic and who knows where life would have taken me. It was then that I knew that I had to use the gift that I received, to play baseball, to do whatever I could to give back.Collection: Baseball
This jersey that we're wearing today doesn't say Red Sox. It says Boston.Collection: Boston