A lot of hitters stay away from the plate, some are close up, some are forward, some are back. The thing about hitting is this: You have to know the strike zone. That's the most important thing. Hit strikes and put the bat on the ball.

Always wanted to be a Major League player. Loved baseball. Followed it. Loved to play. Plus, I could always hit.

I learned to hit with a broomstick and a ball of tape and I could always get that bat on the ball.

It seemed like I always did some great hitting in Brooklyn. The field there was close to the stands. Every time I started walking to the plate, I could hear the fans say, 'Here comes that man again. Here comes that man.'

I consciously memorized the speed at which every pitcher in the league threw his fastball, curve, and slider; then, I'd pick up the speed of the ball in the first thirty feet of its flight and knew how it would move once it had crossed the plate.

What I try to do is never to hurt anybody else and figure if I don't, then I'm not likely to get hurt myself.

There was never a day when I was as good as Joe DiMaggio at his best. Joe was the best, the very best I ever saw.