"When I left Arizona in 1999, Griffey gave me a bat signed 'See You In Seattle.'”

“I wanted the challenge of competing against the best players in the world.”

“I want to be the first player to show what Japanese batters can do in the major league.”

“Everybody in the states is so relaxed, and everybody in Japan is so uptight.”

“I had a dream. And I made that dream come true.”

“Baseball has been the greatest things in my life, but the cameras and the media surrounding baseball have not been fun. It’s unnecessary. How many times do they see me stretch? How many times do they see me walk? It is a big concern. If it affected the team in a negative way, I don’t know what I would do.”

“As professionals we have a responsibility of providing a good show for the fans. Getting hits and home runs is what they want to see.”