I grew up in a very culturally diverse area of America, and I am very proud to come from there. I am also proud that my inner circle of friends has never been defined by race but by the content of their character. Any former teammate or anyone who has met me can attest to this, and I pride myself on not being a judgmental person.
All of my buddies and I wanted to be Cal Ripken.
I do believe that supporting our First Amendment rights and supporting local law enforcement are not mutually exclusive.
Any time you can go out there and throw 12 pitches in any inning, you give your team some momentum coming in and get some confidence out on the mound.
Opening Day was a big thing. I came to a lot of Orioles games. I grew up a couple blocks from here, so I was always coming down to the stadium. I always made it down for Opening Day until I was a little bit older and I had ball. But when I was younger, I always missed school.
I played outfield in high school a little bit.
I approach spring training the same way every year.