I don't think some athletes understand how big it is to be an athlete, what they can do with just a simple gesture of shaking a kid's hand. It can make a fan's day. It can make a fan's life.

I don't do stuff to be a star. I do it because I feel it's important for kids, African American kids, to see an African American face that plays baseball.

I'm pretty sure that China is way bigger than the Dominican.

Everybody used to say that baseball players can't dress and athletes can't dress. You know, a lot of athletes now are trying to prove everybody wrong, though there are some athletes that try too hard and try to do over-the-top things. But me, I try to be simple and just make whatever I'm wearing look good.

I didn't know if I could make it to the big leagues without going through Triple-A.

If I could do it over, I'd want to come up to the big leagues like Mike Trout. He's exciting and I like watching him.

If I'm in the car after a bad game, I may think about ways I need to improve. But the second I reach home, the game's over. Work doesn't come inside with me. Same thing in reverse - I don't bring my personal life into the ballpark. Learning to keep it all separate has made life easier.

Racism is kinda old. For real.

I never want to sit out. I want to play baseball games.

I get bored real easy. I'm so used to L.A. and the pace that when I go home now I start thinking, 'Something's not right, something's not feelin' right.' I just gotta do what I gotta do in Oklahoma and get back to the fast-paced city.

Beast Mode doesnt make excuses. It doesnt complain. Whatever youre doing, go out there and get it done. Keep pushing. If I have a bad game, I think about what I have to do to return to form. Figure it out, go to sleep, and wake up a new man.

I've pretty much grown up to hide my emotions for the most part.