I played all sports growing up. Baseball was always my favorite, though.

Union membership is not the sole guarantor of job security and a living wage, but nonunion factory workers do not enjoy the same protections as union workers. They're subject to exploitation, underpayment and lower standards of workplace safety - which is also often the case for manufacturing workers outside the United States.

I've pitched in a lot of different roles in my career. I've been the middle-inning guy. I've been a lefty matchup guy. I've closed. I've kind of done a little bit of everything.

When I was a kid, I remember my parents would say, 'Baseball is what you do, but that's not who you are' - like that might be my job, but that's not the end-all, be-all. I feel like I might even be able to use it to help other people or open some doors or explore more opportunities.

When your first marriage goes into tragedy, you become very battle-scarred... I even thought of suicide. Luckily, I had known some happy marriages.

I love L.A. It was an awesome place to spend my 20s, full of creative people, but I never wanted to stay there. It wasn't necessarily Texas that I wanted to move to; I just knew I wanted to live in the country somewhere. My wife and I found this place in Texas that we really liked, so we packed up our stuff and moved.

If you move or get married, that has to be changed with HR, payroll, medical insurance, life insurance, etc. It is a huge administrative headache that requires a full-time staff.

I'm a guy that follows my heart and my passion. I do what I love.