I remember I was a scared rookie, hitting .220 after the first three months of my baseball season, and doubting my ability.

The race doesn’t always belong to the swift nor the battle to the strong. It belongs rather to those who run the race, who stay the course and who fight the good fight.

I loved the game – I loved the competition. But I never had any fun. All hard work – all the time.

I think about baseball when I wake up in the morning. I think about it all day and I dream about it at night. The only time I don’t think about it is when I’m playing it.

Anything less would not have been worthy of me. Anything more would not have been possible.

The moment the game (AL Pennant versus the Twins) was over I sprinted for the dugout. The fans were pouring onto the field. If they’d caught me they’d have torn my uniform into shreds for souvenirs.

You don’t always make an out. Sometimes the pitcher gets you out.

Ed (Runge), you’re the second best umpire in the league. The other twenty-three are tied for first.

I never stay away from workouts. I work hard. I’ve tried to take care of my body. I’ll never look back and say that I could have done more. I’ve paid the price in practice, but I know I get the most out of my ability.

I was lucky enough to have the talent to play baseball. That’s how I treated my career. I didn’t think I was anybody special, anybody different.

I came to love Fenway. It was a place that rejuvenated me after a road trip; the fans right on top of you, the nutty angles. And the Wall. That was my baby, the left-field wall, the Green Monster.

This is a strange game.

I’m very pleased and very proud of my accomplishments, but I’m most proud of that (hitting four-hundred home runs and three-thousand hits). Not (Ted) Williams, not (Lou) Gehrig, not (Joe) DiMaggio did that. They were Cadillacs and I’m a Chevrolet.

Red Sox versus Yankees is the greatest rivalry in sports.