24 Quotes by Garrett Atkins

My confidence (defensively) definitely grew as the season went on, and the last month and a half, two months did wonders for my confidence. Being out there every day after the All-Star break was important, especially when I knew I had to prove everybody wrong, which I've been having to do since college.

Obviously, it's different than what I'm used to. It's a little bit compared to probably most major-league clubhouses. It's nice to see that we're drawing a little bit of attention. You got to start somewhere.

I don't expect our fans will react like they do in other places. This isn't a place that throws stuff on the field. The fans are good about that here. I think it will be a good weekend for the fans.

I had two strikes, so I was looking for something to hit. He left it out over the middle of the plate and I was able to hit it good.

It is encouraging to see a kid come up and do what he doing. He's got five home runs. That's more than the starting eight combined. You watch him in batting practice, and you know he is a special kind of hitter.

We all played together coming up. We all know each other, and it's a real good clubhouse. I'd like to think that will translate to the field.

You hit first or second, you know they're going to come at you because they don't want anybody on base when he comes up. If he comes up with runners on base, they want to pitch around him and go after Holliday or myself. Having him in there changes the whole dynamic of the team.

You have to take into account the kind of team we were on. I was on a last-place team. He was on a team that was fighting until the end. You get more exposure that way, and he had a great year. All that's in the past, though. Time will tell who is the better big-leaguer. We have a long way to go in all of our careers.

I've played with a lot of these guys. They know I've had my struggles over there. They say if you keep pushing forward, working hard, plays like that are the reward.