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| Hank Aaron
"714, 715, I've forgotten them already.""Babe Ruth never had to contend with anything like that when he was establishing his record.""Can I smoke now without someone taking my picture?""Gehrig was known as the Iron Horse of the Yankees. That's kind of what I'll have to be for the next two or three or four years to have a shot at the home run record his teammate, Babe Ruth, holds.""Guessing what the pitcher is going to throw is 80 percent of being a successful hitter. The other 20 percent is just execution.""He'll [Babe Ruth] still be the best, even if I pass him. Even if I am lucky enough to hit 7I5 home runs, Babe Ruth will still be regarded as the greatest home run hitter who ever lived.""I can't recall a day this year or last when I did not hear the name of Babe Ruth.""I don't see pitches down the middle anymore not even in batting practice.""I don't want them to forget Ruth. I just want them to remember me!""I have never said I wouldn't want to break the record, but I never said I would break it.""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 I should walk around with a smile on my face.""I used to love to come to the ballpark. Now I hate it. Every day becomes a little tougher because of all this. Writers, tape recorders, microphones, cameras, questions and more questions. 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've tried a lot of things in the off-season, but the only thing I really know is baseball.""If I had to pay to go see somebody play for one game, I wouldn't pay to see Hank Aaron. I wasn't flashy. I didn't start fights. I didn't rush out to the mound every time a pitch came near me. I didn't hustle after fly balls that were 20 rows back in the seats. But if I had to pay to see someone play a three-game series, I'd rather see myself.""If I knew exactly what I know now and had it to do over, I'd be a switch hitter. No telling what I could have done."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 that they put their pants on different, rather than one leg at a time."It may sound silly, but I don't hear a thing when I'm up at bat. Someone can be standing and hollering right by the dugout, but I don't hear it. I'm concentrating on the pitcher. I don't worry about what's happening in the stands.""It means a lot to me to be as close to Babe Ruth's home run record as I am. I'm not concerned about it. In fact, I try not to think about it except when somebody brings it up.""It would be a great thing for blacks, giving black children hope that no matter how high the mountain, they can climb it.
"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.""It's a long way off, I'll just try to get one home run at a time. I'm not really a home run hitter. I like to think of myself as a complete ballplayer. I'd like to be remembered as a good all-around player, not just as a fellow who hit home runs.""It's the Cadillac of baseball records.""Last year, I was a sort of kid and I was a little scared. I ain't scared any more.""My arrival in the major leagues was pretty dull. No drama, no excitement, absolutely none. I just arrived, and that was all.""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.""People keep wondering if I will be around long enough to break Babe Ruth's home run record. I really don't know. I do know that I will not hang on just for the sake of hanging on."That's something for the men with the pencils to worry about. I'll hit as many as I can and you guys figure out what it comes to.""The average person can't realize what a nightmare this has been. The last 10 days of the season, all winter, spring training, right up till today. Now I'm just tired. Not let down-just tired. I'm beat.""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.""There is no logical reason why girls shouldn't play baseball. It's not that tough. Not as tough as radio and TV announcers make it out to be ... Some can play better than a lot of guys who've been on that field . . . Baseball is not a game of strength; hitting is not strength.""They just say they'll be disappointed if anyone tops Babe Ruth. But if I do, I'll expect someone to top me someday.""Yes, I think about the record. I think I can make it if I stay healthy and if I have a strong man batting behind me, so they won't pitch around me.""Yogi, I came up here to hit, not to read.""You can only milk a cow so long, then you're left holding the pail."Can I smoke now without someone taking my picture? Didn't come up here to read. Came up here to hit. Guessing what the pitcher is going to throw is eighty percent of being a successful hitter. The other twenty percent is just execution. I can't recall a day this year or last when I did not hear the name of Babe Ruth. I don't feel right unless I have a sport to play or at least a way to work up a sweat.I don't see pitches down the middle anymore – not even in batting practice. I don't want them to forget Ruth, I just want them to remember me! 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. There is no such thing as a bed of roses all your life. But failure will never stand in the way of success if you learn from it.I just don't feel right unless I have a sport to play or at least a way to work up a sweat. 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 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 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'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. It took me seventeen years to get three thousand hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course. Last year, I was sort of a kid and I was a little scared, I ain't scared any more. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. You can only milk a cow so long, then you're left holding the pail. 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. |
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