 So let's go at the beginning, way back to Puerto Rico. Did you always want to be a Major League ball player? Yeah, since I was six years old. Was it because your dad was a player and your uncle was a player? Yeah, I think they had a lot of influence, but I think telling your English teacher, you're not going to open your book because you're going to be a baseball player is a little bit too much. San Terce, Puerto Rico is where you grew up, and that Roberto Clemente territory. Was he one of your idols growing up? You know, he dies in 1971. I'm born in 1971. I mean, you hear a lot from the people of Puerto Rico. I mean, you got murals, and you got a lot of things going on. You play in his complex. And in that complex, you don't have a number. Your number is 21. Everybody's number is 21. Really? Yeah. So you have your name, and it says 21 on the back. It's pretty neat. Now, baseball is in your DNA, as I mentioned. Your dad was a mind-lead player. Uncle Leo was with Kansas City, right? Do you have any big memory of that? Have you ever seen tape of any of them play? No, I've seen my uncle play. He played for Kansas City. Yeah, I've seen him. I've seen him made a good play in the off field. He had a good arm, hit for power. No, he's my dad's cousin. I call him uncle, but he's really my dad's cousin. Now, who was your favorite player, and who was your favorite team growing up? My favorite player was George Brett. I just loved the way he played. No batting gloves, always dirty. Don Mattingly, Dave Winfield, just the way they played. Now, let's talk about the switch hitting. How did that start? My dad turned me left-handed. So you're a natural righty. I'm left or righty, but he turns me left-handed. I hit left-handed as soon as I was like 12 years old. And then I faced my first left-handed pitcher, and I looked at my dad and said, well, no, I hit right-handed. And I'm like, well, I haven't hit right-handed. So I hit right-handed, and it was natural. So it became really natural for me, because I was just hitting left-handed all the time. OK, now, in high school, it wasn't just baseball. You played other sports, right? What else did you do? Soccer, play soccer. And I ran track a little bit. Now, I have to stop you there for a second. I mean, you're a great baseball player. You're pretty slow. How did you make the track team? I was not always this slow. You know, when you're growing up, I think everybody's pretty much the same. But then when you get older, obviously, everybody, they run a little faster. All right, now, in high school, you played shortstop, right? Shortstop. Shortstop. I got drafted as a shortstop. Went to college, played shortstop. And then when I signed my first year, I played second base, because I had another guy that played short. So my first year with the Yankees on the island of New York in 1991 was second baseman. Now, in 1989, you get drafted by the Yankees. You're 17 years old. Number one, are you thrilled? Number two, why don't you take it? Well, the offer wasn't good. They wanted me to sign for free. For free? Yeah. They said, you'll sign. They'll give you a signing bonus. I think it was $7,500. It was not, as I said, I need to go to school two years and see what happens.