The people in the Upper Midwest were the same kind of people I grew up around in Idaho.

At Tiger Stadium, the dugouts are so low that you walk in and hit your head on the ceiling. People would say, 'Don't feel bad. Ty Cobb did the same thing.'

Pitchers are smart. They know they are much better off if they mix things up and keep you off-balance.

Joe Mauer's the real deal. He is absolutely wonderful. Not only is he a great player, but he's a great human being. He's the kind of guy you'd like to see... be your son.

In baseball, you pack your uniform in the clubhouse after a ball game, and you see it hanging up in your locker when you get to your next city.

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, 'You're tearing up the grass'; 'We're not raising grass,' Dad would reply. 'We're raising boys.'