I've made mistakes, I've misspoke, I am sure I will again sometime, but that happens, that's part of being human in my book. I'm OK with that. I've never done it maliciously, ever.
I don't hide my feelings, but when it comes to illness, I guess I don't panic. My father was the same way. I'm the provider for the family and the caretaker. If I panic, who is anybody going to run to?
Before I pitch any game, from spring training to Game 7 of the World Series, I'm scared to death.
I care what people think, but that doesn't change what I say. I am who I am.
I don't pitch for contracts.
The game was here long before I was, and will be here long after I'm gone.
The only thing I hope I did was never put in question my love for the game, or my passion to be counted on when it mattered most.
I did everything I could to win every time I was handed the ball.
Have I said dumb things? Absolutely, who hasn't? But I have never backed away from being called out on something I did or said wrong.
I've had teammates I didn't get along with, who hasn't? I've never had a teammate call me a bad guy, while he was my teammate, and if he did when I was gone what kind of teammate was he anyway?
I am human, when people write bad stuff about me it bothers me, but I know that will never end.
I think I've earned a certain level of respect, based on my accomplishments and my consistency.
I've got a wife, four kids, a business, and a baseball career.
The God-given ability that you're given to use, it speaks as much about who and what I was and was around, and the crowd of people that I chose to live my life with, as it does about me.
I don't have any problem with government helping entrepreneurs and businesses.
I was raised to understand and know the difference between right and wrong.
So every dollar of income that I have that is potentially taxed away is a dollar I can't put in my company to create a job. My entire company is around job creation.
I wanted to create a multibillion dollar company that lets me go out and let us go out and change the world and create a Skin Cancer Awareness Center that costs a quarter a billion dollars.
I had three jobs my junior and senior year of high school. I worked for the gas station and worked for a pizza place.
Trust me, I have never written a speech in my life, and if I have my way, I never will.
