Baseball Was One-hundred Percent Of My Life.

I've Got To Be First. All The Time.

The First Time I Faced Him I Watched Him Take That Easy Windup And Then Something Went Past Me That Made Me Flinch. The Thing Just Hissed With Danger. We Couldn't Touch Him... Every One Of Us Knew We'd Met The Most Powerful Arm Ever Turned Loose In A Ball Park.

The Base Paths Belonged To Me, The Runner. The Rules Gave Me The Right. I Always Went Into A Bag Full Speed, Feet First. I Had Sharp Spikes On My Shoes. If The Baseman Stood Where He Had No Business To Be And Got Hurt, That Was His Fault.

He Batted Against Spitballs, Shineballs, Emeryballs And All The Other Trick Deliveries. He Never Figured Anything Out Or Studied Anything With The Same Scientific Approach I Gave It. He Just Swung. If He'd Ever Had Any Knowledge Of Batting, His Average Would Have Been Phenomenal. ... He Seemed Content To Just Punch The Ball, And I Can Still See Those Line Drives Whistling To The Far Precincts. Joe Jackson Hit The Ball Harder Than Any Man Ever To Play Baseball.

When I Began Playing The Game, Baseball Was About As Gentlemanly As A Kick In The Crotch.