I went to college for a reason, and that was to skip the minor leagues. I spent a year in the minors and got my at-bats in, and then I felt like I was ready for the big leagues.

I have no problem with the arbitration process.

Home runs come in bunches. You can go two weeks without one or hit four in a week. Sometimes, you just feel that stroke for a week or two weeks straight.

The only dream I've ever had is to become a major league baseball player.

My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad.

To be able to play baseball for those nine innings in front of a major league crowd is a special privilege.

I'm so excited about the new [Yankee] stadium!

Education is very important to me, as is helping children.

I didn't realize how much I loved the game until I couldn't play it.

I have confidence that whatever I set in my mind will happen. Everything I strived for I reached.

I think everybody out there on the American team is out of their element. That's not an excuse. That's the way it is. It's early in the spring. A lot of guys are not as (locked-in) as they could be.

Love is the most beautiful of dreams and the worst of nightmares.

You must try to generate happiness within yourself. If you aren't happy in one place, chances are you won't be happy anyplace.

Arguments only confirm people in their own opinions.

I like dramas and stuff. That's what I watch, but it seems weird that I'd be in it.

The two things I use the most are the MacBook Air and my iPhone. Those are my two most-used gadgets that are dented, scratched and smashed.

The American ideal is, after all, that everyone should be as much alike as possible.

Once one assumes an attitude of intolerance, there is no knowing where it will take one. Intolerance, someone has said, is violence to the intellect and hatred is violence to the heart.

The fans treated me with a lot of respect, and I played as hard as possible every night. I wanted to win. I'm going to always be a competitor.

In my own case, the most inflammatory statements I have ever made are ones that I have written and remain willing to defend.

Art is elimination of the unnecessary.