Quotes from Carlos Ruiz

As a kid, baseball was always my passion.

I love baseball. I love my city, Philadelphia and Panama. I want to do my best and show everybody... I'll do my best.

You know a guy. You know what's their best pitch. But catching it - that's different.

I always say that I think my job is behind home plate, call a good game, play some good defense, and also, I know I was not a power hitter.

Baseball continues, life continues, and I have to continue to work.

I like to work the count, but I know when I have to be aggressive.

When one goes to school, you don't have any idea of what you're going to learn. But as each day passes, you learn things. I believe sport is the same way. Some guys are born with a talent. But you have to nurture that talent and continue to learn.

The day I got to Los Angeles after I got traded, Chase Utley was the first guy I saw. He welcomed me. He gave me a big hug. He was, like, 'You. You are my brother.'

I was always taught that a catcher has to be the brains of the team.

Every Hispanic player goes through that. It's a lot of hard work, to be able to communicate with your teammates. English is fundamental to be able to express yourself fully in a game.

The good Lord was the one who provided everything for me.

You have to go out there and do your best and help the team win.

I have some really cool memories here in Philly, and I thank you for the support. These are great fans, and I think when you play hard and when you do your best to win, they appreciate that. It was fun to be part of this organization and play for this city. I really enjoyed the time I was here.

I think my goal is to play every day because I believe that I can still play every day.

I'm trying to get myself in good shape, do my workouts, so that when I am back, I am ready to go.

I always try to have some good at-bats. Home runs come once in a while; that's good.

I won't tell you that I've never been discouraged. Of course I have; as a human being, that's bound to happen.

I really love Philadelphia and all of the fans, my teammates, the front office, the organization, everybody. I know I'm going to miss them. I really appreciate everything we did together. On the other side, I am happy because I have a chance to go to the playoffs. Another opportunity, maybe, to go to the World Series.

Now, every organization has to have a translator for the Hispanics on the teams, and that helps a lot.

Life is like school. You aren't going to be born knowing what to do in every situation. You learn little by little.

For almost every interview, I had to have others translate for me, and look for someone to do that. I had a lot of miserable moments. But my teammates treated me well and helped me gain confidence.

No tienes derecho a decirme eso, Daniel. Tú no me conoces. —Dime que estoy equivocado y me iré. ¿Le quieres? Nos miramos un largo rato en silencio. —No lo sé —murmuró por fin—. No lo sé. —Alguien dijo una vez que en el momento en que te paras a pensar si quieres a alguien, ya has dejado de quererle para siempre —dije.

Permaneció al lado de sus amigos porque pensaba que ésa era su obligación. Le mató la lealtad a gentes, cuando les llegó la hora, le traicionaron. Nunca te fíes de nadie, Daniel, especialmente de la gente a la que admiras. Ésos son los que te pegarán las peores puñaladas…