There's a certain time that when somebody asks you a question, you answer them. I don't think I said anything with venom. If you can express yourself without anger and make it as palatable as you can, that's what you do.
When I went to home plate in a game-tied situation or with a chance to do something and help the ballclub win one, I'd try to make eye contact with the pitcher.
If you can't see the rotation and tell if it's a sink - a fastball, then you have to be able to tell whether that fastball is a two-seamer or a four-seamer. You have to be able to recognize if it's a slider or a curveball. You have to be able to recognize if it's a changeup or a split-finger.
A baseball swing is a very finely tuned instrument. It is repetition, and more repetition, then a little more after that.
The only way I'm going to win a Gold Glove is with a can of spray paint.
I'm a businessman. I bring my bat and glove and attache case to the office and go to work. I don't give a damn if the other workers at the office like me or not.
When people push back on you and don't think you can do it, and you struggle a little bit and wonder if they're right, it drives you to be successful and to be a great player.
When you hit a player in the head, you're more apt to get some fisticuffs or, you know, bring both teams out on the field, but it was more accepted that - in the '50s, '60s and '70s. I think nowadays it's a little over-policed because I will always believe that knocking a hitter down, even hitting a hitter at, sometimes, is part of baseball.
You can play football and be the next Jim Brown or play baseball and be the next Reggie Jackson.
Ken Holtzman could pitch a game in ninety minutes. Wouldn't throw a breaking ball. And he had a great breaking ball.
The greatest manager has a knack for making ballplayers think they are better than they think they are.
You don't face Nolan Ryan without your rest. He's the only guy I go against that makes me go to bed before midnight.
No. No, no, no, no, Blyleven wasn't even the dominant pitcher of his era - it was Jack Morris.
October, that's when they pay off for playing ball.
The only difference between me and those other great Yankees is my skin color.
When I hit, I felt I was in control of the home-plate area, and it was important that I felt that way. If I let the pitcher control it, it would give him an advantage.
I've always been able to hear and read what I say before I say it. That's why I'm a good quote. Or a good interview. If I say something that's uncomfortable for someone's ears, it's going to be the truth; I just happen to voice it. But it's the truth. It's not my opinion.
Billy Martin was a human tragedy, in the real sense of the words.
Lee May's about the same age as me; he's got about the same stats. So how come he's making about one-eighty, two hundred thousand, and I'm the best damn paid player in the game? I'll tell you why: Because I put the meat in the seats!
I couldn't accept the racial epithets in reference to players like Elliott Maddox or Billy Sample.
