Quotes
from The Mick:
"Playing
18 years in Yankee Stadium is the best thing that could ever
happen to a ballplayer."
Along
with the other players of his era, Mantle missed the truly big
money. More than once he commented, "If I was playing today,
the first thing I'd say to the owner in the morning would be,
'Hello partner.'"
"If I knew I was gonna live this long,
I'd have taken better care of myself."
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Mickey
praised Roger Maris' home-run record as "the
single greatest feat I ever saw." Later
he said, "I watched the last one on television.
I just stared at the set and cried."
"I
don't know why he hasn't been elected for the
Hall of Fame. To me, he's as good as there
ever was. I have four boys of my own, and if
I could pick somebody for those boys to grow
up to be like, it would be Roger [Maris]."
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| "Casey
[Stengel] became
almost like a father to me. He always called
me 'my boy.' He would say, 'That's my boy there,'
you know. That's how close we became." |
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| "Billy
[Martin] was always a great one for jokes. He loved
to pull a joke on somebody. He'd get a bigger kick
out of that than anybody that I've ever played with.
And Billy wasn't afraid of anything." |
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| "If
I could choose anybody I wanted to play for my
team, the first player I'd choose would be Whitey.
There's no one I'd rather have on my team than Whitey
Ford. When the game was on the line he's the
guy I'd want pitching." |
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| "As
far as I'm concerned, Joe DiMaggio is probably
the greatest all-around baseball player that ever lived." |
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| "Yogi
[Berra] was as good a catcher as I ever saw.
I'll tell you, he could come from behind the
plate on a bunt and almost always throw the guy
out. He had a better arm than everybody thought
he did. And he could really block the plate.
He could hit the ball down the right field line
better than anybody I ever saw in my life, and
he could hit almost anything thrown at him." |
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