The three-thousand hitting thing was the first time I let individual pressure get to me. I was uptight about it. When I saw the hit going through, I had a sigh of relief more than anything.

This is a strange game.

I came to love Fenway. It was a place that rejuvenated me after a road trip; the fans right on top of you, the nutty angles. And the Wall. That was my baby, the left-field wall, the Green Monster.

Anything less would not have been worthy of me. Anything more would not have been possible.

I'm very pleased and very proud of my accomplishments, but I'm most proud of that (hitting four-hundred home runs and three-thousand hits). Not (Ted) Williams, not (Lou) Gehrig, not (Joe) DiMaggio did that. They were Cadillacs and I'm a Chevrolet.

You don't always make an out. Sometimes the pitcher gets you out.

I remember I was a scared rookie, hitting .220 after the first three months of my baseball season, and doubting my ability.