I'm going to the All-Star Game as an Oriole and as a shortstop. It's just always a blessing. I thank God.
I hustle, I run down the line, I do whatever I can to win ball games. Those are the only things we can control as baseball players.
I go from my room to the ballpark and play baseball. I try to keep it simple.
I know I can be a way better player as a shortstop than I can at third.
Do I want to play for a contending team? Yeah. Do I want to go to the playoffs? Yeah. Do I want to win a ring? Of course I do.
I'm not going to lie: it's tough. There were a couple of games where you're down, and you're in a really dark place, and you don't know if you're ever going to come out of it. You realize, 'Hey, I'm having a bad day,' but you realize there are people out there having worse days.
Tempers flare at times. That's what good teams do: they react to things and go out there and leave it all on the field.
It's been humbling to have multiple teams interested in me and have people talking about my free agency and what I should do.
Obviously, getting traded halfway through the year is always tough. New faces, new teammates, guys you played against but don't know on a personal level.
Obviously, I'm a shortstop at heart. I want to continue to play shortstop.
I've played third base for a couple years. I did well, and I thought I was an elite player at that position, but at the end of the day, I've been a shortstop my entire life.
I've been doing this since I was a kid. I'm always going to play the game with a smile on my face, blowing bubbles, sunflower seeds, whatever it is. That's just who I am.
