I don't know why Roger (Maris) isn't in the hall of fame. To me, he was as good as there ever was.

Roger Maris was as good a man and as good a ballplayer as there ever was.

If I were playing today I'd do what Joe DiMaggio said. I'd go knock on the door at Yankee Stadium and when George Steinbrenner answered I'd say, 'Howdy, pardner.'

The only thing I can do is play baseball. I have to play ball. It's the only thing I know.

A lot of people wrote that Roger (Maris) and I didn't like each other and that we didn't get along. Nothing could be further from the truth.

During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at-bats a season. That means I played 7 years without ever hitting the ball.

Not after all the time my dad spent teaching me to switch-hit.