At an early age, if you develop a delivery or a throwing motion that is direct to the plate, then that's fine. If you have one that's slightly open, that's fine, too.
— Jake Arrieta
I've always been in good shape. I just sucked early in my career from a statistical perspective.
You really want to try to continue to pile up outs as often as you possibly can. Whether they get a hit or not really doesn't affect the way you continue to approach that lineup, especially with a five-run lead.
Pilates has been around a long time but maybe was taboo in this sport. I think it's only a matter of time before you see a reformer in every big league clubhouse.
When it comes up with my age, I'm like, let's just end the conversation there. That's irrelevant to me. I'll pitch until I'm 40.
Hamstring flexibility and hip mobility for me are the two most important factors on the field.
I think the beard plays a slight factor to my presence on the mound. It's kind of part of the persona now. Everyone in Chicago embraced it, so I got to keep it. I can't ditch it now.
Early in my career, I wasn't good in the strike zone early. I was good in the strike zone late, which is not a good thing.
Sequencing is a really big factor in preparing for a team that you've faced several times. For me, at the end of the day, I feel like if I execute, regardless if I were to use same sequencing as I have in the past against these guys, I still feel confident in my ability to have success.
I expect to beat everybody I play. It's kind of that quiet confidence that I have inside that I try to present to the opponent without getting too overboard. Because there are times when I seem composed, but inside I'm losing my mind.
People had lost faith in me in Baltimore, and rightfully so. I knew that was not the guy I was.
I eat plants. I eat lean meat. I work out.
'ACE' is one of the acronyms I've used over the years. It stands for 'Acting cures everything.' You weren't promised to come to the ballpark and feel great on your start day. Basically, how can you put something on display to the opponent that gives the appearance of 'OK, this guy is locked in today,' whether you are or not?
I personally don't think guys should get multiple chances when guys fail a steroid test.
The preparation is what allows the success to happen naturally.
I trust how much my ball moves. I can throw it at you or this far off the plate and have it end up on the black. That's where I kind of went to the next level. I knew what all my pitches were doing. Even in '14, I didn't have that ability.
Being in the same sentence as Bob Gibson, that's incredible.
I've heard players, and I'm talking about some of the best players in the league, question whether I've taken steroids or not. Some of the things I hear are pretty funny, and some people are idiots, frankly.
I think the average MLB career now is just a few years. The quote that has always resonated with me is 'We're going to be former players a lot longer than we were current players.'
