What’s it like as a baseball player working with Jordan brand?

I always wanted to be a Jordan athlete. You’re separate from the rest of the field because there’s only a select few guys with Jordan brand. So to be a part of that is definitely a blessing. Everywhere you go you’re set apart because you’re wearing something different than what other Nike athletes wear.

Were you always a big Jordan fan? Did you ever collect?

I wasn’t collecting, no, but I had a couple pairs. I think my senior year in high school was when I started wearing Jordans. It was our team rule that we had to play in them so that’s when I got—not introduced to them, but got into it. Through the minors I started collecting some, just to wear, and that’s when I told myself I want to become a Jordan athlete and did all I could to do it.

What’s your favorite pair that you’re rocking these days?

I don’t know if I really have a favorite pair right now—actually I would say probably the Off-White 1s.

A couple weeks ago there was a Mariners-Royals game where they wore these “Jerseys from the Future.”

[Laughing] Yeah, yeah I saw those. I thought it was pretty cool. When things are new, when change comes you’re gonna have people that are reluctant to it. But I actually really liked them. I think that’s something that we should try. You got some guys that wore no undershirts, which I thought was funny. People can express themselves. You can see people’s tattoos and I think it’s another way for fans to learn something about you.

If you could design a baseball uniform from scratch would you make any changes like that or do you like the classic, clean look the Sox have?

I like the classic. I do like the vests though, I like the “future” uniforms. I would wear the vest and then I would probably wear an undershirt because I’m not 6’5”, 240 pounds. I don’t have those kind of muscles to fill out a uniform. [Laughs]

The Red Sox and the Yankees have been off to incredible starts, with two of the best records in the league for most of the season. Do you feel like the rivalry has ticked up a notch?

I don’t think the rivalry kicked up any or we hate them any more or any less. I think it’s just one of those things where two really good teams in the same division are battling it out. If you get the teams in another division, we’re 10, 15 games ahead. So I think it just makes for a good race and it’ll be fun. Every game’s gonna matter at this point.

You’ve had a tremendous first few years in the league, but especially this season, you’ve been on an absolute tear.

As you’re coming up, you see how the guys up there are going about their business and there’s this feeling of “Oh man, I gotta get there and I gotta do this and gotta do that to stay.” But I’ve slowly learned that you have to be yourself. You can’t try and be somebody else, you can’t try and do what other people do. I learned a couple things from [David] Ortiz and [Shane] Victorino. Those were the vets that gave me a couple pieces of advice to think about in becoming your own player. We all have different styles of play and that’s how teams come together, I think that’s how teams are good. So I just came up and learned to do my own thing and things have worked.