I loved the game - I loved the competition. But I never had any fun. All hard work - all the time.

I was a lousy hitter in May doing the same things that made me a great hitter in June.

I knew when the ball was going out (over the Green Monster). It was something I worked into the decoy, but it used to tick the pitchers off. Bill Monbouquette used to say, 'Can't you at least make it look like you can catch it?' Meanwhile, the ball would be on its way over the fence to a spot three-quarters of the way out to the railroad tracks.

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

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.

I think about baseball when I wake up in the morning. I think about it all day and I dream about it at night. The only time I don't think about it is when I'm playing it.

I was lucky enough to have the talent to play baseball. That's how I treated my career. I didn't think I was anybody special, anybody different.