Rod Carew Quotes

Well, my favorite sport as a kid was clearly baseball.

We lived near a playground that had four baseball diamonds on it, and when I got to be 11, 12 years old, I was always over at the ballpark practicing or playing or doing something pertaining to baseball. And when I wasn't doing that, I was bouncing a rubber ball off the steps of my front porch at home.

See the ball; hit the ball.

Baseball is a team sport played by individuals for themselves.

I loved coming up with players in scoring position and I had to drive them in.

I wanted to play baseball!

And when we used to play and fight in the streets in Brooklyn and I would get hurt or something, my mother would always come out and save me. So that sort of postponed the inevitable about getting a good beating, without having somebody to come and save you.

There's only one way to become a hitter. Go up to the plate and get mad. Get mad at yourself and mad at the pitcher.

The fellows that I played with encouraged me to bunt and beat the ball out. I was anxious to make good and did as I was told. When I came to Brooklyn, I adopted an altogether different style of hitting. I stood flat-footed at the plate and slugged. That was my natural style.

I think baseball is a very fine game, and you have to enjoy it. You have to go out there and have fun.

I don't need to practice my swing. I grew up with a bat in my hands.

I always tell myself to bat the full day, and if there is a ball to be hit, just hit it.

Harvey and I grew up in Queens, N.Y. My brother and I shared a room for 18 years until we went away to college. When we were kids, after our father said, 'Lights out,' he also exclaimed, 'No more talking. Time for sleep.' But we'd stay up late, arguing over statistics, who the best center fielder was - Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle.

I have a vivid memory of loving Keith Hernandez, the first baseman for the '86 Mets. I grew up in Queens, so when the Mets won the World Series that year, it was a big deal.

Baseball began early for me. When I was 5, my father took two Little League bats and put them on a lathe. He whittled them down and sanded the bats so they were the proper size for my brother and me. He began by throwing tennis balls to us. Eventually, we practiced hitting and fielding at a field near our house.

Most parents were, like, Little League coaches and all that. My dad was a wrestling fan. Instead of going out and playing home run derby with my old man, we just watched wrestling together.

It's not a bad ball if I can hit it.

You score runs to win games. That's how you do it.

Wiffle ball was my first experience hitting left-handed.

I'm a good hitter for a pitcher.

I've always loved hitting, and even as a kid, I always hit.

Three of my childhood dreams went unfulfilled. I never saw a no-hitter, never saw a triple play, and never caught a ball that had been hit into the stands. But I did see the Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in a World Series game when I was 10.

I've played the outfield my whole life. It's like riding a bike.

As a kid, baseball was always my passion.

In 1946, the year I was born, Yankee Stadium was only 23 years old. But from my perspective as a boy, it had been around forever. At age seven, I saw it for the first time. As I grew older and was allowed to navigate the city's subway system on my own, I went to Sunday doubleheaders with friends on a regular basis.