Growing up, I was a big Red Sox fan and looked up to guys like Dustin Pedroia, who's obviously not the biggest guy, but the way he competes, the way he works, it was motivating for me.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I am a huge Red Sox fan.
I am very much a Red Sox fan; I can name you more players than you could possibly imagine. It's just part of who I am.
Having been aware of the Red Sox since the 1946 World Series, having been growled at by Ted Williams as a young reporter in 1960, having been present at the horror of 1986 and the comeback of 2004, I have seen the highs and lows of some other people's favorite team.
To give you an idea what it feels like to be going in with some of the best baseball players of all-time, I mean it is fantastic. I have to say this about them, there are so many of these guys up here that were my role models, people I looked up to, people I wanted to be like.
There's so much passion and so much interest in the Red Sox in Boston.
I grew up a Phillies fan. Me and my buddies tailgated a couple of times when they won the World Series. I like just being in that atmosphere.
Babe Ruth made a baseball fan of me. I used to go to Yankee Stadium just to see him come to bat.
Everyone has someone they looked up to. Mine was Mickey Mantle. For Alex Rodriguez to idolize me coming up, that makes me feel very good.
The greatest competitor was Bob Gibson. He worked so fast out there and he always had the hood up. He always wanted to close his own deal. He never talked to you because he was battling so hard. I sure as hell don't miss batting against him, but I miss him in the game.
I was taught coming up in the Phillies organization to be seen and not heard by people like Pete Rose, my hero growing up, and players like Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton and Manny Trillo.