I don't want to be considered a leader based on what people think goes on in the clubhouse.
When I first signed with the Yankees, the regulars wouldn't talk to you until you were with the team three or four years. Nowadays the rookies get $100,000 to sign and they don't talk to the regulars.
If you rush in and out of the clubhouse, you rush in and out of baseball.
Players that tend to respond to adversity the right way and triumph in the end are players with strong character. If you have enough guys like that in the clubhouse, you have an edge on the other team.
When I came over here (the National League), I always heard it was a stronger league, with amphetamines all over the clubhouse, but all I found was Michelob Dry.
Even over time, with a stable coaching staff and one manager who is fantastic and been in place for a long time, you can't ever defer and stay out of the clubhouse because you don't want to get in the way.
I think the outside world can learn a lot about how to act by watching a major league clubhouse. I don't think you want to do everything the same, but there's a lot of things I think people could learn from.
The Oakland clubhouse is a wonderful place. A lot of these guys feel like rejects. They were rejects and they feel - they can tell you how baseball screwed up.
People in real life don't get ballplayers' humor, the way we talk in the clubhouse.
I think the big thing is keeping positive energy in the clubhouse. The amount of time we spend in there and spend together carries over into what you do on the field.
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.
Locker rooms and grill rooms are still the best places to find out things you don't know - at the Masters or any other golf tournament.
