I hit it, and I was like ‘Wow. I can’t believe I did it,’

The way I look at it is, if you’re going to get hurt you’re going to get hurt. It’s baseball. If you think about getting hurt, the chances are better you’re going to get hurt.

I don’t think about the past. I think about the present and the future.

Izzy, I know he wanted to get that save right there, and he made a mistake. But we came out with a win, and everybody will forget about what happened.

You don’t have much room in this clubhouse to get away.

The hitting coach, Hal McRae, told me after (Andy) Pettitte struck me out (in the third) with a great cutter down and in, ‘Relax, you’ve got two more at-bats,’ … Obviously, I had three more...

That tells me right there that my hands are quick and my swing is right where I want it to be.

A lot of the fans and even the players miss Barry, … I wish he would’ve been healthy and played, but I don’t think about (his absence). I don’t think about the past. I think...

I’ve had Jimmy for the last five years hitting behind me, and I know he’s going to click on and drive me in, so there’s no need for me to put pressure on myself or...

Of course I’d take 40 homers, a .330 average and 100 RBIs, but it can be better. I want to get better every year. I never want to be satisfied.

A slider, that’s his main weapon. It was a good pitch to hit, and I gave it my best swing.

It’s been a great experience so far and some guys are so excited that they’re saying we should play this ever year. I think this is going to be a great tournament and there won’t...

I know they’re going through a tough time. It’s terrible to see a great player like that going down, but that’s going to happen in your career.

Like I say, he’s probably the best closer in the game besides Mariano [ Rivera ] right now. He has probably the best slider in the game. I just want to get a good pitch...

If I can stay healthy, I know I’m capable of doing that. So, I don’t think about it. The thing I want is a championship, that’s what I want to appreciate at the end of...

It’s just an honor to get this award. I want thank all the players. It shows a lot of respect that the players have for me. There were so many players that had a great...

I know if I get two strikes, I can still take the same approach and get a base hit. I’m really comfortable with two strikes, it doesn’t bother me at all.

You have to show respect for the other guys. It’s good to know we have a spot in the playoffs but still you don’t want to take things for granted.

We had a great year. We had a good first round. We just didn’t get it done this series.

This doesn’t rank. This is just another win. Maybe you guys look at me and think, ‘Man, he’s stupid.’ Hey, everybody knows how I feel, and it’s all about winning games.

This year, my job was to strike out less and walk more,

I know he wants to get out there but you just need to stay healthy because we’re going to need him later on. He needs to be sure he’s ready to play.

That’s why you practice for a month-and-a-half in spring training. To get ready for (days) like today.

I should get more hits. I hit a lot of balls hard, but I didn’t get a lot of hits. That’s the way it goes sometimes.

If you get caught the third time, you definitely need to be thrown out of baseball, … If you get caught the third time, it means you’re not learning the lesson.

It’s great to have my name with those guys, the superstars, great players, All-Stars. But my job is to help my team to win and that’s what I did.

Everything wins in this game, … This is not like the 162-game season. It’s a short series, and we need to win any way we can.

Hopefully, this is the spark that we were looking for. The best thing we need to do is not let them celebrate in our stadium. We’ve been in this spot before.

I had a treatment done right after the season because I wanted to get some of that pain away before I start in training in a couple of weeks,

It might be surprising to you guys, … but it doesn’t surprise us at all. Our pitching has been outstanding. Our bullpen does its job. Our position players are doing what they need to do....

I’m a line-drive hitter with power. I can drive the ball into the gap, and I’m strong enough to hit it out of the park if I elevate it. No matter how people describe me,...

I hit it and I knew it was going to be out of the park. I just jumped and knew it was going to be fair…. I didn’t even look. I just knew it was...

It couldn’t be better than this. I just couldn’t believe I did it.

You’re representing your country . That’s it. It doesn’t get any better than that. I was excited right away… you’ve got to be excited.

I don’t try to compare myself with anybody. I don’t get caught up in that because then you might take things for granted. I just try to be the best, go give it my best...

You don’t want to get caught up thinking along with him, because then, he’ll sneak something by you. You have to make sure the ball is up and put your best swing on it. He...

I’m pretty sure we’re happy, but we don’t take things for granted. It’s not where we’re at right now. It’s where we’re going to be next week.

We’ve got some great hitters, but we’re going to face some great pitchers. We’ve got some speed, we’ve got guys with power, guys who can hit the ball all over the park. If we can...

You don’t play to win the division; you play to win championship rings.

I’m just taking advantage of what they’re giving me. I don’t try to do too much. I just try to get on base. Scott and Jimmy (Edmonds) are swinging the bat pretty well right now....

I’m getting pitches. I’m taking my swings. And when I don’t, I take my walks. It would be good for the team to have all those guys going good. But I have to do my...

Hopefully this is the spark that we were looking for, … I know we were struggling a little bit — not a little bit, a lot — in Houston with the bats. Getting that big...

We have been reacting well. It doesn’t matter if a guy’s making $500,000 or $10 million or $5 million. Everybody is the same, and we know that we are here to win games and to...

The only way you win a Gold Glove [in the infield] is if you have a good first baseman. If I don’t help them out, they don’t win. I want them to feel confident that...

I would have taken a one-for-three or a one-for-four and win the game. That’s what it’s about. We just didn’t find a break where we could score and get a bunch of hits early against...

This team reminds me of the team we had in 2004. Any guy that Tony put out there did his job. In this organization, we keep that tradition. The guys that are here are ready...

They’re going to be ready in St. Louis, … We just need to win two before we lose one.

I don’t get to play down in the Dominican, so this is my way of saying ‘Thank you’ to my fans there and helping my country win.

This year was a tough year for us,

I thought we were going to get him. But he found a way to make a pitch and get a ground ball double- play. That’s why he’s won 14 Gold Gloves.