“I've always said I'm a teacher at heart.”

“Alex Rodriguez seemed not to fit in with the rest of his Yankee teammates. For instance, he wanted a clubhouse attendant personally assigned to him, when there were four or five for the whole team. Seeing the rift between him and the rest of the team and how Rodriguez's major focus on how HE was perceived, Joe Torre suggested in the individual meeting that Rodriguez at least get his own coffee rather than send someone to get it for him. Later that day, Alex Rodriguez made a point of telling the manager that he got his own coffee – drawing attention to himself, even in what was meant to be just an example of how he could fit in with normal behavior.”

“Winners live in the present tense. People who come up short are consumed with future or past. I want to be living in the now.”

“My girls are great at making fun of Dad. They're never impressed with anything I do. I love that. I hope that never changes.”

“It's a game that just takes so much out of you. Every aspect of your life has to be very narrow, very focused. Everything else has to go away. And because of that, I think it's obviously not healthy. The last thing I'm looking for is sympathy.”

“I'm very thankful to the Yankees and to Major League Baseball for allowing me to play this game.”

“I've always said I'm a teacher at heart.”

“Enjoy your sweat because hard work doesn't guarantee success, but without it you don't have a chance.”

“The first time I met Alex Rodriguez, he was in the fight of his life. He was the guy who was supposed to have everything - good looks, good health, good habits - all the talent in the world and most of the money.”

“On Alex Rodriguez's difficulty performing in clutch situations, Joe Torre writes, "In key situations, he can't get himself to concern himself with getting the job done instead of how it looks. There's a certain freefall you go through when you commit yourself without a guarantee that it's always going to be good. There's a trust and commitment thing that has to allow yourself fail, allow yourself to be embarrassed, allow yourself to be vulnerable”