"He was the guy I identified with. And I still do. He was such a gamer.
Tough, competitive, hated to lose." (on former KC Royals ace Dennis
Leonard)
"I can't remember a major league game where I could make eye contact
with my dad. I kept wondering if he was going to yell at me for hanging
a pitch or something." (On his first start after sitting out most of
the 1996 season with an aneurysm)
"I guess it kind of stemmed from my father. He was a union guy working
for the meat plant down in Kansas City. He was a union guy, and I guess
it was just in my blood." (describing his ties to the MLB Players'
Union during the 1994 baseball strike)
I'm a finesse pitcher without the finesse.
I like to think of the world's greatest athlete coming up to bat against me - Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, I don't care who it is - and I'm looking at him thinking, you have no chance.