Prince Fielder quotes:

When I first started swinging a bat, I swung righty. So one time, my dad came home, and he wanted to see my batting stance. So I showed him. He says, 'You don't hit right-handed. You hit left-handed.' At that age I didn't even really think about it. Just like 'all right,' and I switched hands. He said I'd thank him later.

The gummy bears tattoo was my idea. It's my son's favorite candy. The sketch was my other son's idea. It's a self-portrait of himself. I just showed the artist his sketch and had him tattoo it on my forearm. It looks like a stick person with big hair. It's pretty funny.

Miguel and Justin, the two biggest guys on the team, welcomed me right away and once the cool kids in school like you, it's easy to get along.

I miss the guys, and I miss playing baseball. Just being able to swing the bat, or run, or dive for a ball, or slide into second.

I play to lift a city, and raise a banner.

I could dunk a volleyball in high school. I didn't play football because I knew they were going to put me at a fat-guy position, and I didn't want to do that. I am athletic.

I was a guy who came to work every day. I was there. When my manager got to the field at 12, I felt like there was no reason for him to ever wonder if I was playing. For me, that's a big deal. I teach that to my kids.

Yeah, I'm a vegetarian - but still, some things are just nasty. I like salads. But sometimes, they get too creative. I like regular food, just no meat in it.

Honestly, right now, I don't want to be around baseball. Not that I don't like it. But I'm having fun right here, hanging around my family and watching my kids' games.

I definitely don't want to run any 5K races anytime soon. I can work out pretty hard as far as intensity. But as far as playing basketball or anything high impact, it's probably not smart for me to do.

I have nothing left to prove. I've already done enough to my neck.

If there's a man on second, I'm trying to get him in with a base hit. The doubles and homers will come. Sooner or later they'll go out naturally. I'm just trying not to do too much.

I'm just living a normal life - a regular life, as people would call it. I'm enjoying it.

You don't have to look like an Under Armour mannequin to be an athlete. A lot of people probably think I'm not athletic or don't even try to work out or whatever, but I do. Just because you're big doesn't mean you can't be an athlete. And just because you work out doesn't mean you're going to have a 12-pack.

When you cut your hair, everybody thinks you lost weight.

A friend of mine asked me a question at the end of 2015. We were going over my finances and setting things up for the future when she said, "What do you want to do when you retire?" I said, "I always wanted to do a food show."

A lot of people probably think I'm not athletic or don't even try to work out or whatever, but I do. Just because you're big doesn't mean you can't be an athlete. And just because you work out doesn't mean you're going to have a 12-pack. I work out to make sure I can do my job to the best of my ability. Other than that, I'm not going up there trying to be a fitness model.

I saw [ that I and my father, Cecil end our careers with 319 home runs] after I retired. It was just weird. With all the games we played, neither one of us could hit one more home run? Obviously, it was supposed to go that way. It's a pretty cool thing, I guess.

A lot of people probably say I'm stupid, and they're probably right, because there are people who take days off who are still in the league, and I'm not.

Coming up through high school, coaches would tell me not to swing so hard. It's the only way I know. It just happens.

Him [my dad] bringing me to the clubhouse when I was young helped me out because I see what they do in baseball and what it's about. He pretty much told me all this stuff when I was younger. Now it's just a matter of doing it.

I get to kind of pretend I'm going to play baseball. I get to work out and do all the stuff that was part of baseball. I just don't get to play.

I guess you need days off, but I just didn't want them.

I have a food show.It's not just baseball people. It's a mixture of baseball people, actors, musicians, chefs and whatnot. They bring out different dishes, and at the end of the show, I give the one I like the most the "Fielder's choice." It's good TV.

I miss playing baseball. Just being able to swing the bat, or run, or dive for a ball, or slide into second. If I could even do that in a softball league, I would never miss anything about baseball. I don't miss the crowds or the travel or even being in the big leagues. I just miss being able to take batting practice and being able to swing as hard as I can. That's all I miss.

I stick to safe, controlled movement. If it's not safe, I just won't do it.

I thought it might be a cool thing [food show] to do when I retired a few years later. Then retirement came slightly prematurely.

I'd like to help out in any way I can, especially with the younger guys in the minor leagues. But as far as setting something up, we haven't really talked about it.

If I could even do that [playing] in a softball league, I would never miss anything about baseball.

I'm not really in a hurry to ever wear a neck brace. That's why I'm kind of positive about it, because I'm healthy.

I'm still working out. It keeps me feeling good about things.

It was pretty hard to actually have to say the words with my teammates, my wife and my boys there. I realized it was going to happen before that day [I announce retirement], but to have to announce it and talk about in front of a lot of people was tougher than I expected. I'm glad that feeling has kind of gone away. That sadness hasn't lingered.

It's easier for me to accept that I can't play anymore because I literally gave it all I got. That allows me to be a little bit more at peace.

It's kind of glorious to say, "Oh man, this guy had his career cut short." I'm not calling myself Sandy Koufax by any means. I'm not in that caliber at all, but sometimes it has to end different.

It's nice to finally be able to wake up and tie my shoes without feeling like I'm about to tip over, or walk a straight line without feeling dizzy, or be able to feel my left arm. That means a lot more to me.

I've always said, "You make a lot of money in Major League Baseball, and it's all guaranteed, so what do you have to lose by going all out?" .

Just because you're big doesn't mean you can't be an athlete. And just because you work out doesn't mean you're going to have a 12-pack.

My main goal now is waking up healthy every day and going on with life.

Obviously I wasn't playing well at the time. But as a player, you lie to yourself. You say, "There's nothing wrong. I'm just not on time [at the plate]." You make something else up because pain is not an option.

Obviously, I think this [162 games a year four times] caused my early retirement, but I couldn't do it any other way. Just for the record, I never asked for any of the days off in my career.

Once I started getting multiple days off in a row, it was a long year for me. That had never happened, and everybody knew I didn't like it.

There are maybe one or two hours a day when I think I can play, but I get over that real quick once I realize the risk and my wife tells me, "Just take a seat."

We took a family trip to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia over Christmas and New Year's. Three weeks was a long time, but it was cool, man. We were on the ocean, so that was kind of intense. After a couple of days you realize how far out you are.

When I was playing, my wife and kids would go on the road with me, and we would go to different lunch spots that we saw on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."

You don't need to have a perfect ending to be happy.

You've got to have some fun before games or you make the season too long. We don't start work until seven o'clock. If you're game-ready at three, it's not good for you. This is the only way I know how to do it.