If you can do that - if you run, hit, run the bases, hit with power, field, throw and do all other things that are part of the game - then you're a good ballplayer.

They throw the ball, I hit it. They hit the ball, I catch it.

When I was in Birmingham I used to go to a place called Redwood Field. I used to get there for a two o'clock game. Where can you make this kind of money playing sports? It was just a pleasure to go out and enjoy myself and get paid for it.

It's not hard. When I'm not hitting, I don't hit nobody. But when I'm hitting, I hit anybody.

They give you a round bat and they throw you a round ball and they tell you to hit it square.

We knew we had to keep playing until the game was decided one way or the other. We played 10, 15 innings sometimes. The All-Star Game was important to us. We weren't worried about setting records. We were worried about winning.