Hitting is the most important part of the game. It is where the big money is, where much of the status is, and the fan interest.
I have no idea what my batting average was in high school, but I know it wasn't below .450, and that's pretty good hitting where I come from.
In my mind, the home run is paramount because it means instant runs.
When I hit a home run I usually didn't care where it went. So long as it was a home run was all that mattered.
I was afraid if I started to hit home runs, my average would drop.
I came up as a number 2 hitter. My first year I hit 16 homers, and I was like, Whoa, I'm rollin'!
Hitting .400 is something you can do by yourself. But you have to rely on guys getting on base at the right time to drive in that many runs.
My job has usually been to get on base so others can drive me in.
Each time I go back to bat, I will want to get more and more runs.
