Last night, with the new contract signed and delivered, I celebrated at the House of Prime Rib with Jalynne, my mom, my agents Joel Wolfe, Josh Persell, Rich Aude and Joel’s wife and daughter. (My dad had to work.) No champagne. Nothing extravagant. For me, the most important thing — whether it’s work or a night out — is the people I’m with.

That’s why this contract extension means so much. The money is great, don’t get me wrong. But  now I know for the next six years I’ll be around the best guys in baseball — Buster, Joe, Matt, Bum, Hunter, the list goes on. Hopefully Belt will work out an extension, too. The no-trade clause was a big deal for me. I wanted to know I wouldn’t be going anywhere. By the end of the six years, Buster and I will have played ten years together. I can’t…