I think when I first started, I tried to make believe I was in the ballpark, sitting next to somebody and just talking. And if you go to a ballgame, and you sit there, you're not going to talk pitches for three hours.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I study pitchers. I visualize pitches. That gives me a better chance every time I step into the box. That doesn't mean I'm going to get a hit every game, but that's one of the reasons I've come a long way as a hitter.
Usually during the regular season, if you're starting pitcher, you're kind of walking back and forth from the clubhouse to the dugout and not really paying attention to what's going on.
I hated pitch meetings. Pitch meetings were my least favorite part of the week. I just gave up. I was so terrible at them.
On the pitch, I argue, I shout, I talk rubbish and generally do anything I can to get ahead.
Baseball is a movable conversation across nine innings. It is eye contact with the person seated next to you in a park where the pitcher is separated from the batter by 60 feet, six inches or in a family room where a 60-inch TV screen hangs on the wall.
I pitched and I played the outfield.
Whenever I'm on the pitch, I feel confident.
I've done literally everything there is to do on a baseball field as a pitcher.
It doesn't matter what the scoreboard says. I'm always having fun, talking to other guys. They even come to first base and ask me about hitting. I try to help them out as much as I can in the 30 seconds before the pitcher throws the next pitch. That's me. I don't think I will ever change that.
It's tougher when you're established. Before, I'd see 13, 14, 15 pitches that I could drive in a game. Now, I see one, two or three, so I have to be better.