If a tie is like kissing your sister, losing is like kissing you grandmother with her teeth out.Collection: Sports
I could have played another year, but I would have been playing for the money, and baseball deserves better than that.
My father cared a lot about me, but he never gave me the satisfaction of really knowing it. Hitting .390 wasn't enough for him. Nothing seemed to be. He was not trying to be mean. He was just seeing to it that I never got self-satisfied, that I worked hard to get the most out of what I had.
Every time I sit with our general manager at a baseball game, and there's number-cruncher and statistician guy - I'm sitting around - they start talking about stuff, and I say, 'What's that? I've never heard of that one before.'
If there was no intentional walks, the guy would just walk him anyway, unintentionally intentionally walk him. You see a lot more of that than what meets the eye.
There's nothing like Opening Day. There's nothing like the start of a new season. I started playing baseball when I was seven years old and quit playing when I was 40, so it's kind of in my blood.
Not many people get to the major leagues and succeed right away. There are some struggles. Everyone seems to struggle.
Do I want someone to get more hits than me? No. Do I want someone to hit more home runs than me? No. Do I want someone to have more RBI than me? No. I get a kick out of seeing the all-time leaders and my name's on top of every one, with the exception of strikeouts. I get a kick out of that.
I never lifted a weight in my life. Why am I going to do steroids? That's not going to do me any good. We didn't have any weights in our clubhouse. We had one exercise bike and that was for the guy who tweaked his hamstring. And that thing didn't even work half the time.
I'm a ballplayer. I know how hard the game is... and anybody that makes it in the Hall of Fame, I support. They become a member of our special fraternity.
I am not too serious about anything. I believe you have to enjoy yourself to get the most out of your ability. I can take the criticism with the accolades. Neither affects me.
I don't think I can play any other way but all out . . . I enjoy the game so much because I'm putting so much into it.Collection: Success
Don't try to be a hero. Try to be a winner.Collection: Hero
Even today, if the Royals win six games all year, if they're going to go 6-156, I hope they beat the Yankees six times.Collection: Winning
I used to be a mad hitter. And then I learned the longer you wait out the ball, the better you see it. And the better you see it, the harder you hit it. And the harder you hit it, the higher your average is going to be. And the higher your average is, the more money you're going to make.Collection: Average
I was three over. One over a house, one over a patio, and one over a swimming pool.Collection: Golf
I was scared everyday I put on the uniform.Collection: Baseball
He said I couldn't do (off the field) what I did when I was 23 or 24, and I paid attention to him. Damn it, I got a trainer and went to spring training in the best shape of my career and in 1985 had the best season I ever had and we won the World Series. Before that, I didn't know how long I was going to play. That talk with Mr. Fogelman was the most inspiring talk I ever had with anyone.Collection: Spring
My problems are all behind me!Collection: Problem
If anyone stays away (after the 1981 strike), my response is this - those people had no right to ever come to the park, because they aren't true baseball fans.Collection: Baseball
Every time I sit with our general manager at a baseball game, and there's number-cruncher and statistician guy - I'm sitting around - they start talking about stuff, and I say, 'What's that? I've never heard of that one before.Collection: Baseball
He looks like a greyhound, but he runs like a bus.Collection: Baseball
The Air Corps . . . does not, at this time, feel justified in obligating . . . funds for basic jet propulsion research and experimentation.Collection: Air
If I was going to make one rule change, I would bring the DH to the National League.Collection: League