"Any game could be my last, and any at bat could be my last. I'd hate to think it ended without me giving my best effort."

"During the season I really don't do anything else but play baseball. I've never wanted to get away from baseball for a break. Why would I want to get away from it? I love the game. I always have. There's nothing else I'd rather do."

"I don't think there's any danger of my ever becoming complacent about losing. I always hated to lose, regardless of what it was, even when the family was playing Yahtzee."

"I feel kind of sorry for those kids who just play one sport growing up."

"Since I got to the big leagues, there's been a whole lot of Direct-TV sold in Jamestown. People like to keep up with the local boy."

"You play hard, and things happen. I'm not going to change the way I play, so I'm going to play this way until I can't play any more."

"You step on that field, you think of the tradition behind this game, the players that have played this game. Especially at the big-league level, for me to go out there and not give my full effort, that's a slap in the face to all the greats of the game and everything this game's ever been made out to me. It's just like saying, 'I don't feel like playing major league baseball today.' I can't fathom that."

"An Erstad. Webster should list it right next to 'Gym Rat.' An Erstad. That's what it is in baseball." - Joe Madden

"Darin's done everything that you'd expect a No. 1 pick to do." - Ken Forsch

"Darin's motivation has not changed since he put on a baseball uniform as a kid. He's all about winning." - Mike Scioscia

"Everybody else has days when we say, 'I'm tired. If I can just get through this game, I'll go hard tomorrow.' He never has a day like that." - Mo Vaughn

"He gets real frustrated when other people don't take the game seriously. He has the philosophy that you do the best you can do and it's for the team." - Dorothy Erstad

"He has a lot of versatility. He's a great makeup guy. He's the prototypical professional player-he brings a lot to the table and we're glad to have him." - Ed Wade

"I cannot say nothing bad about this guy. He knows how to play the game. He knows what the manager wants, and he's just a good baseball player." - Ozzie Guillen