I love to play this game of baseball. I love putting on the uniform.

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.

The first principle of contract negotiations is don't remind them of what you did in the past - tell them what you're going to do in the future.

Used to be bats had thick handles and a big barrel. Then they found it's not the size of the bat that gets home runs - it's the speed with which you can swing it.

I started to crouch because that way I could guard the plate better, and I always wanted to hit .300 in the big leagues.

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.'

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.