When you're a kid growing up, you say you want to make it to the Major Leagues, and when you reach that dream, that's what it's all about.
Learn to know every man under you, get under his skin, know his faults. Then cater to him - with kindness or roughness as his case may demand.
Years ago, the writers were telling me that I'd make the Hall of Fame, so I kind of prepared a speech. But somewhere along in the 28 years, it got lost.
My manager said it would more effective against left-handed hitters. It seemed to me that was impossible to do without the high leg kick, which I started that day.
I hate the cursed Oriole fundamentals... I've been doing them since 1964. I do them in my sleep. I hate spring training.
I like teaching. I would like to help out with the young catchers; be there for them and obviously, you know, what it takes to get here. That's the biggest thing, I think.
I'm not executing my pitches. I'm not commanding my fastball, and I get behind in the count. When I try to throw strikes, I'm getting hurt. That's not the way I pitch.
My 12 years in New York were very, very special, the fans were very special, and it's something I will take with me wherever I go and into retirement.
Stress is something that is sort of out of your control. You get stressed out over looking at the finish line. Stress is something that is an outside thing. Stress is an anxiety.
When we lost, I couldn't sleep at night. When we win, I can't sleep at night. But, when you win, you wake up feeling better.
You get to the big leagues, and you think, 'Can I do this stuff?' Then you take the first pitch down the middle for Strike 1, and you think, 'I could have hit that.'
Some of these guys wear beards to make them look intimidating, but they don't look so tough when they have to deliver the ball. Their abilities and their attitudes don't back up their beards.
I can't recall too much about pitching, but I do remember that I was anxious to get it over with. I just wanted to get that first game over with and go from there.
My first year in baseball, there were only one or two reporters. My second year, I got to the Triple-A playoffs, there were four or five. When I came up in 1984, I never saw so many people.
I'm just a ballplayer with one ambition, and that is to give all I've got to help my ball club win. I've never played any other way.
You start chasing a ball and your brain immediately commands your body to 'Run forward, bend, scoop up the ball, peg it to the infield,' then your body says, 'Who me?'
We're just being ourselves and having fun playing baseball. The biggest thing is when people look at our team, they can see that we're having a lot of fun.
I am convinced that in my own career I could usually have hit 30 points higher if I had made a specialty of hitting.
In my own case I have frequently faced the pitcher when I had no desire whatever to hit. I wanted to get a base on balls.
I'm a child of the sixties, I'm a man of the sixties. During that period of time this country was coming apart at the seams. We were in Southeast Asia. Good men were dying for America and for the Constitution.
I started in for the ball but I just couldn't get it. I should have caught it because I was used to catching everything on the sandlots. But they hit the ball a lot harder in the major leagues and I just couldn't reach the ball this time.
