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When I started playing the game of baseball, the more I played and the better numbers I got, the more I started thinking about the Hall of Fame. But I never thought I had a chance to be there.

It's a great honor to me to be named to the Hall of Fame. It's very hard for me to even imagine that I would ever be elected to it.

If it happens, I'll be proud, and it would be a dream come true, though I doubt I ever thought I'd be a Hall of Famer when I started. It wasn't until late in my career that people started to mention it, and you start thinking about it a little bit.

I was a starter and did some good things there, and then I got a chance to prove myself as a closer. Because of that opportunity, I was blessed with the honor of being elected to the Hall of Fame.

Making the Hall of Fame has long been considered the top individual honor that one can achieve in any sport, but for me, I feel it is a culmination of all the input and effort afforded me from so many other people over the years that put me in this position today.

I had a successful career: not necessarily a Hall of Fame career, but a successful one.

I respect the Hall of Fame, and if they think that I'm worthy enough, I would be very honored. And if they don't, I gave it all that I had to this game.

To wind up in Cooperstown is surreal for me. To go into the Hall of Fame is one thing. When you think of all the other Yankees that are in here, it's pretty special. This is just a shrine. To visit it, much less be inducted, it's still sort of unbelievable to me.