Justin Morneau

On the secret to the Twins' surprising success this season

How tight we are as a team. Guys aren't worried about themselves, they're worried about winning. We go out to eat, and there's 10, 12 guys; that's rare in the majors. We'll go to Dave & Buster's [restaurant], goof around, play Rock Band, Guitar Hero. We're a bunch of kids that get to play baseball.

On his parents, Audra and George, who spend a lot of time around the team

I'm close with them so it's great. When my dad's there it's all about baseball; when my mom's there it's the opposite--she wants to make sure I'm O.K. She enjoys the games, but she likes seeing her son more than anything.

On his worst moment as a hockey goalie, which he played as a kid near Vancouver

We were in the provincial tournament--like a state tournament--and I was 15. Semifinals, overtime. A guy skates in and scores on me, five hole. There's only one team in our town, New Westminster, so everyone's real close. That team had all the guys I grew up with. We still don't talk about it. It still bothers me.

On retired Rockies outfielder Larry Walker, Canada's most accomplished big leaguer

I grew up playing on Larry Walker Field. Then my first big league game, against Colorado, he sent me over a bat! Now we know each other; I text him and he fires right back, which is cool for me. If I'm struggling, I ask for advice. He keeps it simple; his thing is, Don't think too much.

On his love of AC/DC

My cousin babysat us [Morneau's brother, Geordie, is 28], and he was into AC/DC, so he forced me to like them. Our hockey team listened to them before each game: Back in Black, Shook Me, then we'd go out to TNT. Baseball is based less on emotions than hockey, but I still get AC/DC going before games to get the boys excited.