Feb 5, 1934 - Present
Baseball\'s Home Run King
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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 hope that these kids are given an opportunity to play, because whatever happened before, they had nothing to do with it. I just hope they have an opportunity to compete. They really deserve to. They have some great ballplayers in Cuba.
Last year, I was sort of a kid and I was a little scared, I ain't scared any more.
Roger Maris lost his hair the season he hit sixty-one, I still have all my hair, but when it's over, I'm going home to Mobile and fish for a long time.
I knew his father very well. And yes, I think I would owe it not only to Barry. I owe it to his father to respect everything that this young man has accomplished.
It makes me feel good to walk through there and know that some of the things that Negro League players played for has been preserved, and people can go in there, and look at it.
On the field, blacks have been able to be super giants. But, once our playing days are over, this is the end of it and we go back to the back of the bus again.
I think of this award as being what we call 'The Year of the Complete Ballplayer,' ... The player that has done the most not only for his team, but has done most to help his team win baseball games. Not only for home runs, runs batted in and batting average, but also in the clubhouse.
Discover Greatness: An Illustrated History of Negro Leagues Baseball,
The triple is the most exciting play in baseball. Home runs win a lot of games, but I never understood why fans are so obsessed with them.
It took me seventeen years to get three thousand hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course.
It took me 17 years to get 3,000 hits, but I did it in one afternoon on the golf course.
It took me seventeen years to get 3,000 hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course.
My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.
Failure is a part of success.
The thing I like about baseball is that it's one-on-one. You stand up there alone, and if you make a mistake, it's your mistake. If you hit a home run, it's your home run.
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.
You can only milk a cow so long, then you're left holding the pail.
The pitcher has got only a ball. I've got a bat. So the percentage in weapons is in my favor and I let the fellow with the ball do the fretting.
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.
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.
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 don't see pitches down the middle anymore - not even in batting practice.
I don't feel right unless I have a sport to play or at least a way to work up a sweat.
I can't recall a day this year or last when I did not hear the name of Babe Ruth.
