When a pitcher's throwing a spitball, don't worry and don't complain, just hit the dry side like I do.
Always wanted to be a Major League player. Loved baseball. Followed it. Loved to play. Plus, I could always hit.
I could always hit. I learned to hit with a broomstick and a ball of tape and I could always get that bat on the ball.
There was never a day when I was as good as Joe DiMaggio at his best. Joe was the best, the very best I ever saw.
Back in my day, we didn't think about money as much. We enjoyed playing the game. We loved baseball. I didn't think about anybody else but the Cardinals.
I consciously memorized the speed at which every pitcher in the league threw his fastball, curve, and slider. Then, I'd pick up the speed of the ball in the first 30 feet of its flight and knew how it would move once it has crossed the plate.
Used to be bats had thick handles and a big barrel. Then they found it's not the size of the bat that gets home runs - it's the speed with which you can swing it.
When we played the Dodgers in St. Louis, they had to come through our dugout, and our bat rack was right there where they had to walk. My bats kept disappearing, and I couldn't figure it out. Turns out, Pee Wee Reese was stealing my bats. I found that out later, after we got out of baseball. He and Rube Walker stole my bats.
I think I had the smallest handle around. When I got my bats, I even trimmed them down. I used to scrape them. Some years later when I started getting older, I used to start with a 33 and in the summer it got down to 31 and then probably in September got down to 30.
A lot of hitters stay away from the plate, some are close up, some are forward, some are back. The thing about hitting is this: You have to know the strike zone. That's the most important thing. Hit strikes and put the bat on the ball.
The first principle of contract negotiations is don't remind them of what you did in the past - tell them what you're going to do in the future.
It seemed like I always did some great hitting in Brooklyn. The field there was close to the stands. Every time I started walking to the plate, I could hear the fans say, 'Here comes that man again. Here comes that man.'
I came up in 1941 and I played against men who played in the 1930s. I stayed until 1963 playing against men who will be playing in the 1970s. So I think I can feel qualified to say that baseball really was a great game, and baseball is really a great game, and baseball will always be a great game.
What I try to do is never to hurt anybody else and figure if I don't, then I'm not likely to get hurt myself.
I'm a musician. I play harmonica for relaxation. A good way to relax and entertain people. An excellent way to have fun.