Al Kaline Quotes

I lost the good stuff on my fastball. I had to come up with something to keep me in the league. The knuckler rescued me then.

I see myself as an average to above-average catcher in the big leagues.

I hated baseball. I really didn't like baseball at all until someone decided they were going to pay me... Every year I played in the big leagues, the day the season ended, I called my buddies in West Virginia and said, 'I'll be home tomorrow.'

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.

I'd like to help educate kids about the Major Leagues - what to anticipate, what to expect, what they'll need to do to prepare themselves.

They throw the ball, I hit it. They hit the ball, I catch it.

Mickey Mantle was a very good golfer, but we weren't allowed to play golf during the season; only at spring training.

I have good anticipation, and good reaction to the the ball because I've played so many matches in my life.

Career highlights? I had two - I got an intentional walk from Sandy Koufax and I got out of a rundown against the Mets.

When you're a kid growing up, you say you want to make it to the Major Leagues, and when you reach that dream, that's what it's all about.

The fourth major league game I ever saw in person, I was in uniform.

Always wanted to be a Major League player. Loved baseball. Followed it. Loved to play. Plus, I could always hit.

My high school coach was Ray O'Conner. He has coached a lot of players that have signed professional contracts, and many of those have gone on to play in the major leagues.

To be a big league ball player, you have to love the game.

My father was a really good athlete, so his pop-ups really were sky high. Eventually I learned how to judge them properly and catch them well. It was great training for when I started to play on teams, which I did all through school.

I'm very thankful to the Yankees and to Major League Baseball for allowing me to play this game.

It was part of my recruiting to go to Cal because they knew I loved to play baseball. I don't know if I was good enough to make the team, but I worked out with the guys, and it was a lot of fun.

There are really smart baseball players. It's a thinking person's game.

I don't feel I could've played major league baseball.

I wanted to be a second baseman for the Chicago Cubs. Problem is that my athletic abilities in my mind are greater than what my body can accomplish.

I think most of the people like the kind of player like Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. They're pretty tall, and they can do everything.

Wiffle ball was my first experience hitting left-handed.

Having played in the league during the '80s, '90s, and the new millennium (old, I know), I had the chance to see firsthand how the best point guards of our time played the game.

I have natural talent when it comes to batting.

I've played the game for 23, 24 years. Four months off, I'm not going to lose it.