The bigger the game, the better I liked it. Not that I was about to let anybody know I was excited. I approached every game the same way. One pitch, one hitter at a time.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
One game, one pitch can change everything for a hitter. The way I like to approach it is that every at-bat is its own unique opportunity to go out there and do something really good.
I enjoyed hitting in the Major Leagues more than in the Minor Leagues. I didn't want to tell anybody it was easier, because I didn't want to sound cocky. But Major League pitchers had better control, and most of them were around the plate.
As soon as I got out there I felt a strange relationship with the pitcher's mound. It was as if I'd been born out there. Pitching just felt like the most natural thing in the world. Striking out batters was easy.
It would have been a helluva lot more fun if I had not hit those sixty-one home runs.
I pitched and I played the outfield.
I look at this as a second life. Every game feels like an event. Every pitch matters. I need that. It elevates your aggressiveness.
I like my friends to be the hitters. The pitchers, they all have the same brain as I do. The hitters see the game from a different perspective.
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.
I love the game of baseball.
I can't recall too much about pitching, but I do remember that I was anxious to get it over with. I just wanted to get that first game over with and go from there.