Lance Berkman

On learning to switch-hit

My dad [Larry] came up with it. He felt that if I could switch-hit, it would give me an advantage. When I was a kid, he hung a tire from a tree [in his backyard in Austin] and had me hit it--50 swings lefthanded, 50 swings righthanded--pretty much every day. It teaches you how to drive through the ball, how to coordinate your hips with your hands. To make the thing go, you've got to really drive your backside through it.

On his current hitting drills

I still hit off the tee a ton. It's a great way to groove your swing. You don't have to worry about the ball moving, so you can concentrate on your mechanics. Baseball's such a reaction sport that the more times you can repeat your swing, the better chance you're going to have. You don't want to even be thinking about [your swing] when you're up there.

On the Astros' clubhouse

I'd be surprised if there's a clubhouse more cohesive than ours. Credit goes to [Jeff] Bagwell and [Craig] Biggio. They set the tone of professionalism, mentoring the young guys and establishing a laid-back atmosphere. There are no cliques, no factions.

On being swept in the '05 World Series

Our society is such that if you don't win the whole thing, you're a failure. I don't feel like that at all. We accomplished a lot, especially for an organization that had never been to a World Series. The good thing is, we have a lot of young guys and a good nucleus. Maybe we have another couple of runs in us.

On being known as a chatty player

When you get me and [the Reds'] Sean Casey together at first, we're way more concerned about what we're saying [than the game]. We talk about the wife and kids. "How are you swinging it?" That's one reason I like playing first; it's a lot less boring than the outfield.