I bet on my team to win every night because I love my team; I believe in my team. I did everything in my power every night to win that game.
I love to play baseball. I'm a baseball player. I've always been a baseball player. I'm still a baseball player. That's who I am.
Last year we had so many people coming in and out they didn't bother to sew their names on the backs of the uniforms. They just put them there with Velcro.
When I was a kid, I believed in Santa Claus. But it was very tough because in the Dominican... there are not a lot of rich people there.
I'd like to help educate kids about the Major Leagues - what to anticipate, what to expect, what they'll need to do to prepare themselves.
I want to be part of Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame, but I don't want to be part of the kind of Hall of Fame that's based on voters' beliefs and assumptions.
I'm from Southern California, so I feel much more comfortable with a golf club in my hand than I do a weapon.
For some reason in Spring Training, everything just clicked. You don't try to do anything in Spring Training but get ready, but things fell into place.
Say you were standing with one foot in the oven and one foot in an ice bucket. According to the percentage people, you would be perfectly comfortable.
If I were on the field, I'd want the manager sticking up for me. Sometimes players are dead wrong, ranting and raving, but you stick up for them. They appreciate that.
I like radio better than television because if you make a mistake on radio, they don't know. You can make up anything on the radio.
There's only one way to become a hitter. Go up to the plate and get mad. Get mad at yourself and mad at the pitcher.
I keep telling myself, don't get cocky. Give your services to the press and the media, be nice to the kids, throw a baseball into the stands once in a while.
Hell, if I didn't drink drink or smoke, I'd win twenty games every year. It's easy when you don't drink or smoke or horse around.
People frequently ask me if adverse criticism bothers me. I've had a lot of it, and I have been able to shrug most of it off.
The only thing bad about winning the pennant is that you have to manage the All-Star Game the next year. I'd rather go fishing for three days.
I had pain in both knees my whole career. Not many athletes play pain-free. Mine was just more than normal.
When we make a mistake, it becomes front-page news. We don't need any reporter telling us how badly we played.
I grew up on the softball field. Every day I would take my glove and my bat with me.
This is what you work for, putting all the other crap that you hear aside. Just being able to participate in a World Series is pretty much everything. But you do want to win!
All the grand work was laid for people who came after me. The Supreme Court decided not to give it to me, so they gave it to two white guys. I think that's what they were waiting for.
