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It was so difficult for the fans to understand my problems with baseball.

I'm not a fan of baseball really.

Not everybody's a baseball fan.

The great trouble with baseball today is that most of the players are in the game for the money and that's it, not for the love of it, the excitement of it, the thrill of it.

That was one of the most comfortable things about leaving baseball was to leave the environment. It's very much like a rock star existence - the nightlife, the hotels, lack of privacy... There's a lot of temptations out there. It was nice getting away from it.

I'm a huge baseball fan and follow it very closely.

I think the guys that get to the All-Star Game deserve a lot of credit. They deserve their opportunity to get out there and let the baseball fandom see them.

I know I'm appreciated by how fans treat me, and the best way to treat them is play every day, hard. I sign autographs, but if I'm with someone I don't know who doesn't start the conversation, there won't be a conversation. That's just me, living my life. But I'll loosen up after baseball.

The Oakland A's, I loved all my teammates there. I loved all the coaches. They gave me the opportunity to play in the big leagues. And for that, I thank them. I mean it was a dream come true for me.