“If you can do that - if you run, hit, run the bases, hit with power, field, throw and do all other things that are part of the game - then you're a good ballplayer.”— Willie Mays, baseball-almanac.com
“Baseball is a game, yes. It is also a business. But what it most truly is, is disguised combat. For all its gentility, its almost leisurely pace, baseball is violence under wraps.”— Willie Mays, baseball-almanac.com
“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.”— Hank Aaron, baseball-almanac.com
“I don't see pitches down the middle anymore - not even in batting practice.”— Hank Aaron, baseball-almanac.com
“In baseball, there is something electrifying about the big leagues. I had read so much about (Stan) Musial, (Ted) Williams and (Jackie) Robinson. I had put those guys on a pedestal. They were something special. I really thought they put their pants on different, rather than one leg at a time.”— Hank Aaron, baseball-almanac.com
“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.”— Hank Aaron, baseball-almanac.com
“"Guessing what the pitcher is going to throw is eighty percent of being a successful hitter. The other twenty percent is just execution.”— Hank Aaron, amazon.com
“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.”— Hank Aaron, en.wikiquote.org
“The hardest thing to do in baseball is to hit a round baseball with a round bat, squarely.”— Ted Williams, goodreads.com
“Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer.”— Ted Williams, goodreads.com
“I think without question the hardest single thing to do in sport is to hit a baseball. A .300 hitter, that rarest of breeds these days, goes through life with the certainty that he will fail at his job seven out of ten times.”— Ted Williams, beabetterhitter.com
“The batter has three strike zones: his own, the opposing pitcher’s, and the umpire’s. The umpire’s zone is defined by the rule book, but it’s also more importantly defined by the way the umpire works. A good umpire is consistent so you can learn his strike zone. The batter has a strike zone in which…”— Ted Williams, beabetterhitter.com
“I was looking for an inside pitch. I don't know whether it was a fastball or not, but it came in a little inside and I was ready for it. I know it went out of here fast. Last year I hit one harder to the left field bleachers. That was a high fly ball. But this was a line drive. And I liked this hit…”— Roberto Clemente, en.wikiquote.org