Defense to me is the key to playing baseball.
They throw the ball, I hit it. They hit the ball, I catch it.
In order to excel, you must be completely dedicated to your chosen sport. You must also be prepared to work hard and be willing to accept constructive criticism. Without one-hundred percent dedication, you won't be able to do this.
When I'm not hitting, I don't hit nobody. But, when I'm hitting, I hit anybody.
I was very fortunate to play sports. All the anger in me went out. I had to do what I had to do. If you stay angry all the time, then you really don't have a good life.
I would try and help everybody, because the game was so easy for me. It was just like walking in the park.
I always enjoyed playing ball, and it didn't matter to me whether I played with white kids or black. I never understood why an issue was made of who I played with, and I never felt comfortable, when I grew up, telling other people how to act.
Robinson was important to all blacks. To make it into the majors and to take all the name calling, he had to be something special. He had to take all this for years, not just for Jackie Robinson, but for the nation.
It's not hard. When I'm not hitting, I don't hit nobody. But when I'm hitting, I hit anybody.
Baseball is a game, yes. It is also a business. But what is most truly is is disguised combat. For all its gentility, its almost leisurely pace, baseball is violence under wraps.
I don't compare 'em, I just catch 'em.
I think I was the best baseball player I ever saw.
At ten I was playing against 18-year-old guys. At 15 I was playing professional ball with the Birmingham Black Barons, so I really came very quickly in all sports.
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.
Maybe I was born to play ball. Maybe I truly was.
Every time I look at my pocketbook, I see Jackie Robinson.
I don't mean to be bashful, but I was.
And my father didn't have money for me to go to college. And at that particular time they didn't have black quarterbacks, and I don't think I could have made it in basketball, because I was only 5' 11". So I just picked baseball.
I played with the Birmingham Black Barons. I was making 500 at 14. That was a lot of money in those days.
When I was in Birmingham I used to go to a place called Redwood Field. I used to get there for a two o'clock game. Where can you make this kind of money playing sports? It was just a pleasure to go out and enjoy myself and get paid for it.
