Gabe Kapler

I came out on the losing end of a home-plate collision enough times that I truly had to consider the risk.

I'm just a person that is trying his best along the way.

I think the players set the tone right away in spring training.

When a ball is struck with more velocity and at the right angle to create the most distance, you end up with a bomb.

When scouts evaluate players for power, they are not simply watching to see if the ball clears the wall. They're laser focused on the flight of the ball, its trajectory and the speed with which it leaves the bat.

Historically, baseball has used the 60-yard dash to measure speed. In the most trivial way, this makes sense. This measurement, however, doesn't tell us much about baseball speed.

I am extremely connected to and proud of who I am culturally, where I come from, my parents and their parents.

I am immensely proud of our people. The way we have been persecuted, and our drive and our survival, is mind-boggling. I think that is part of the reason I continue to be so connected to the Holocaust, and why that has such a moving effect on me.

There are so few Jewish ballplayers, so you want to be a positive role model and provide an example that the Jewish community can be proud of.

In 2006, I woke up every morning and dreaded the ballpark. I knew how difficult it was to even prepare my body to go out and play.

I tore my Achilles' tendon in September 2005.

Oft-injured MLB players should consider taking a full year off near the middle of their careers.

The New York Yankees signed Masahiro Tanaka, and the baseball world has yawned.

As an average hitter myself, I lacked that true back knee drive.

I loved having a fan appreciate my style of play, but nothing in the world is more gratifying than having 24 guys gaze at you adoringly for quite assertively scoring a run at the expense of a member of the other team.

As a base runner myself, the moment I reached second base I began to fantasize about the potential contact at the plate. Every time I met a catcher in front of the plate throughout my career, the response I received from my teammates when returning to the dugout was a true hero's welcome.

You can grow old without growing up.

Attempting to predict shoulder and elbow issues due to extensive innings early in a pitchers career is an inexact science.

If you're looking for a MLB example of a guy who was dominant as a youngster and regressed as an additional cautionary tale, Atlanta Brave Steve Avery fits the bill.

If I'm going to hand over my classic Italian sports car, and you're going to be driving it down Pacific Coast Highway with the top down, while I watch, I want to be certain that I'm adequately compensated for the pain of that vision.

Part of the beauty of playing with seven teams across MLB is that I got to know hundreds of men intimately.

David Price gives the best high-fives in all of baseball. They sting the hands and deliver noteworthy affirmative vibes.

When I was 8 years old, I was struck by a car and broke a few ribs.

This is why sports will always be the greatest of dramas; the most exciting entertainment known to man. Nobody can predict the outcome and the script is ever in flux.

As I think back years later as to what a Game 7 is, what stands out most is how unpredictable it is, even for the athletes closest to the environment.

Rehabbing any significant injury is a substantial challenge independently; braving the process twice makes for even longer odds.

There is nowhere on Earth like Boston for a player.

Heavy pitchers can have bulky muscle that leads to decreased flexibility or carry extra fat that puts increased stress on the ligaments and tendons.

Young and wiry pitchers allow for the opportunity to add muscle, which often leads to improved velocity.

Tall pitchers create leverage and angle, often inducing more groundballs and sometimes swings and misses.

Short pitchers often have compact, repeatable mechanics that can lead to good control and command.

The Rays organization pays close attention to what's going on mentally and emotionally for its players.

My dad ran a few marathons; I fight the urge to do the same because I know that it's not the most efficient way to train unless you're preparing for an event similar in nature, which baseball players are not.

Throwing on a hoodie and headphones and getting lost in a long run is pure freedom for me. I embrace the trance, the intense sweat and, of course, the endorphin release.

A pitcher's windup and throw is an explosive, coordinated full-body movement. They perform the move once, then rest, then perform it again. There is nothing aerobic about it.

That desire to compete is almost a physical addiction.

Post career-threatening injury, you must fight not only your body, but your mind as well.

In 2005, when I felt my Achilles snap, I knew instantly that it wasn't just my anatomy that had changed, but my life as well.

Game 7 of a Championship Series sucks the emotion out of a player, particularly if you have to stroll home a loser when it's over.

I had my share of failures at the plate as a MLB player, but I was always pretty confident against left-handed pitching.

Watching Clayton Kershaw in the very first game of the 2014 season, I realized that he's not overpowering; he's deceptive. It's the sum of his parts that makes the Los Angeles Dodgers ace baseball's most successful pitcher.

Narcissism is a trait universally unappreciated by human beings, and NFL players fall into this human bucket.

I've been privy to many athletic environments, both amateur and professional.

Teammates in all sports love to be acknowledged.

Lower stress equals a calmer approach at the plate. Calm equals a still head, allowing us to see the ball better. Confidence and relaxation; the hitter's Holy Grail.

Independent of the strength implications, baseball, like most athletic events, is a game of feeling capable of handling the current challenge.

Confidence, it turns out, is as vital to a players success as is talent.

Brace yourself if you're a traditional hitting coach, I'm about to say something that will hurt your feelings. The best baseball swing is an uppercut.

Hip flexibility is genetic to a degree, and the most gifted hitters have won both the genetic and mechanical lottery.

I was stronger than Robinson Cano is, but he consistently strikes the baseball with substantially more force than I did.