Carl Yastrzemski: I was a lousy hitter in May doing the same things th...

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.

Carl Yastrzemski

baseball dream morning

When they knock you down, you not only have to get up, but you have to make it clear that you won't be knocked down a second time.

Carl Yastrzemski

knocked-down get-up baseball

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.

Carl Yastrzemski

fighting strong running

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

Carl Yastrzemski

has-beens worthy baseball

And if I have my choice between a pennant and a triple crown, I'll take the pennant every time.

Carl Yastrzemski

choices time sports

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.

Carl Yastrzemski

hard-work workout practice

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

Carl Yastrzemski

leadership fun sports

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

Carl Yastrzemski

pitcher sometimes sports

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.

Carl Yastrzemski

wall monsters baby

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

Carl Yastrzemski

umpires twenties league

You never know what's going to happen. Anything can happen there... and often does.

Carl Yastrzemski

anything-can-happen doe happens

The three-thousand hitting thing was the first time I let individual pressure get to me. I was uptight about it. When I saw the hit going through, I had a sigh of relief more than anything.

Carl Yastrzemski

sigh-of-relief time sports

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

Carl Yastrzemski

three baseball doubt

If that guy (Mickey Mantle) were healthy, he'd hit 80 home runs.

Carl Yastrzemski

guy home running

Red Sox versus Yankees is the greatest rivalry in sports.

Carl Yastrzemski

red yankees sports

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.

Carl Yastrzemski

pouring fans games

This is a strange game.

Carl Yastrzemski

strange games

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.

Carl Yastrzemski

accomplishment home running

I knew when the ball was going out (over the Green Monster). It was something I worked into the decoy, but it used to tick the pitchers off. Bill Monbouquette used to say, 'Can't you at least make it look like you can catch it?' Meanwhile, the ball would be on its way over the fence to a spot three-quarters of the way out to the railroad tracks.

Carl Yastrzemski

track would-be monsters

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.

Carl Yastrzemski

baseball sports thinking

I was a lousy hitter in May doing the same things that made me a great hitter in June.