"It took me seventeen years to get three thousand hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course." "You can only milk a cow so long, and then you're left holding the pail." "I have always felt that although someone may defeat me, and I strike out in a ball game, the pitcher on the particular day was the best player. But I know when I see him again, I'm going to be ready for his curve ball. Failure is a part of success." "I never doubted my ability, but when you hear all your life you're inferior, it makes you wonder if the other guys have something you've never seen before. If they do, I'm still looking for it." "I don't feel right unless I have a sport to play or at least a way to work up a sweat." "Guessing what the pitcher is going to throw is eighty percent of being a successful hitter. The other twenty percent is just execution." "I don't want them to forget Ruth, I just want them to remember me!" "I looked for the same pitch my whole career, a breaking ball. All of the time. I never worried about the fastball. They couldn't throw it past me, none of them." "I'm hoping someday that some kid, black or white, will hit more home runs than myself. Whoever it is, I'd be pulling for him." "In baseball, there is something electrifying about the big leagues. I had read so much about Musial, Williams and Robinson. I had put those guys on a pedestal. They were something special. I really thought they put their pants on different, rather than one leg at a time." "I never smile when I have a bat in my hands. That's when you've got to be serious. When I get out on the field, nothing's a joke to me. I don't feel like I should walk around with a smile on my face." "Roger Maris lost his hair the season he hit 61; I still have all my hair, but when it's over, I'm going home to Mobile and fish for a long time." "You got to play a hundred and fifty games a year, so pick your spots. You can miss two games a month; so pick the days you're gonna be hurt, or you're gonna rest or you're gonna have a drink or two. The rest of the time, be on that field."