What drives me is trying to be perfect.
— Tony Gwynn
I was a contact hitter my whole career but I learned how to handle the ball inside. And Ted Williams played a big part in that. He gave me the advice on how to handle inside pitches.
When I wake up in the morning, I don't think of myself as being better than anybody else. I think of myself as a good hitter.
Sometimes technique works better than a whole lot of other things.
I'm a chemistry guy. I believe you've got to play together to have a chance to win.
I think the ability to hit - some guys have it and some guys don't - but I think how dedicated you are to trying to get the most out of yourself, I think kind of determines how good you are and for how long. I was born with the ability to hit, but my work ethic has taken it to the next level.
I'm coaching 'swing at this, don't swing at that,' and in the middle of it, a kid looks at me and says, 'Coach, I think I'm going to fail history.' Or maybe their girlfriend just dumped them. These are kids, and once I embraced that, this became a lot more fun.
Remember these two things: play hard and have fun.
When you sign your name on the dotted line, it's more than just playing baseball. You have a responsibility to make good decisions and show people how things are supposed to be done.
Ted Williams is one of the best hitters ever to play the game, and I didn't get a chance to see him play, so all I could do was read books and look at pictures.
Knowing the strike zone is very important, but I think the first thing is knowing yourself, knowing what things you do well.
It's about getting in position and taking a swing. I don't care if you're taking steroids or not; if you don't do those two things, it's not going to matter anyway.
Like a lot of kids, you kind of think baseball's boring - that's the perception.
Either you have the ability to hit or not. But I also think you have to work at it.
Nobody talked about my defense or that I used to steal bases, too.
I hate to say it, but, yeah, I'm a tobacco junkie.
When I was a kid, man, my dad used to buy me the Ted Williams glove at Sears with the Ted Williams shoes with the eight stripes on 'em. I used to play Little League, and I was Ted Williams-ed out.
I had no idea that all the things in my career were going to happen. I sure didn't see it. I just know the good Lord blessed me with ability, blessed me with good eyesight and a good pair of hands, and then I worked at the rest.
Steroids do not guarantee you're going to have success. I think a lot of people think that they will, but they don't.
I try to keep it real simple. I try not to add a lot of frosting on what I'm doing. Just take the swing and don't muscle the swing, because if you get in the hitting position and you take the swing, I generate a lot more bat speed, and that works for me.
The only thing I do to my bat is put some tape around the handle to build it up a little bit because I broke my finger about six years ago and can't really close it the way I want to. Other than that, the same bat, same Louisville Sluggers.
I think if you enjoy teaching, if you enjoy talking about your craft, that's probably the best way to do it... because once a player starts to get it, once he figures it out, he'll never forget it.
