Quotes

“Any ballplayer that don’t sign autographs for little kids ain’t an American. He’s a communist.”

“(Ty) Cobb is all wet. He talks about a game which had no night play, a game in which the pitcher had everything his own way. He could apply saliva, tobacco juice, mud, talcum powder, or a file to the ball. He could load it with phonograph needles, raise the seams and do anything else he wished with it. And a ball remained in play until it was ready to break apart. Now the advantage is all with the hitters.”

“I always tried to hit the ball back through the box because that is the largest unprotected area.”

“I don’t like to sound egotistical, but every time I stepped up to the plate with a bat in my hands, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the pitcher.”

“I don’t want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to go chase it.”

“It don’t make no difference where I go or what happens, so long as I can play the full nine.”

“I’ve never been a yes man.”

“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.”

“Players who stand flat footed and swing with their arms are golfers, not hitters.”

“To be a good hitter you’ve got to do one thing – Get a good ball to hit.”