“If my uniform doesn’t get dirty, I haven’t done anything in the baseball game.”
“Rickey don’t like it when Rickey can’t find Rickey’s limo.”
“Rickey got a big ranch. Rickey got a big bull. Rickey got horses. Rickey got chickens and everything. And Rickey got a 20-gallon hat.”
“To all the kids out there: Follow your dream. Believe in your dream. Because dreams do come true.”
“My journey as a player is complete.”
“I have to play baseball to make me happy. I have to be an athlete. But when it’s all said and done, I’ll be a normal father. A normal-type house man.”
“Lou Brock was a great base stealer but today I am the greatest.”
“I like playing for Oakland, they have a very colorful uniform.”
“I love the game and I wanted to continue playing. It came to a time that I had to stop.”
“Certain guys, they can see a guy do a certain thing with their glove and know what pitch is coming. I couldn’t do that. But I can get on first base and I can tell you by his move if that pitcher is going to first base or home plate every time.”
“Somehow, I’ve been blessed to be able to have the young spirit inside – not feel like every year I get a year older. I feel like every year I get a year younger. I don’t wake up in the morning with aches and pains.”
“Just because I believed in what I was doing on the field and dedicated myself to playing the game, does that mean I’m cocky? Does that mean I’m arrogant?”
“I don’t want to be one of those great players who never made it to the Series.”
“You have to keep running. I always believed I was going to be safe.”
“My impact on the game was going out there and making things happen.”
“To me the most important thing was stirring things up and scoring some runs so we could win a ballgame.”
“If you look at some of the people in the Hall of Fame, my numbers are compatible.”
“The only name on my birth certificate was Henley, no first name.”
“My dream was to play football for the Oakland Raiders. But my mother thought I would get hurt playing football, so she chose baseball for me. I guess moms do know best.”
“I’m disappointed about how my career ended.”
“I haven’t had the time to say, ‘I’m retiring.’ But baseball says, ‘You’re retired.’”
“I can’t find a job. It makes me crazy.”
“I’m a Hall of Famer and I’m still fighting for it because I love the game and I love to play.”
“You never had the opportunity to play with some of the great ballplayers, but being that close around them, and being in the same category, was a great feeling, to feel that vibe of all the best players who played the game.”
“I wanted to be a part of something special and contributing to the launch of a new league was very exciting to me.”
“I love playing this game and every spring training feels like the first.”
“I don’t think I ever got proper credit about being smart about the game.”
“I did so many things that made me a threat.”
“In baseball you train the whole body, except for the hip and eyes.”
“Once you can accept failure, you can have fun and success.”
“I love talking about baserunning.”
“Even the slowest guy can go from first to third and help win a ballgame.”
“People always ask me why I still want to play, but I want to know why no one will give me an opportunity. It’s like they put a stamp on me: ‘Hall of Fame. You’re done. That’s it.’”
“People say I stole a lot of bases. I stole the bases for a reason. I crossed the plate.”
“When you’re a kid, you want to be a millionaire.”
“People recognize me – but if you’ve been in the public eye as long as I have and people don’t recognize you, I feel bad about myself.”
“I can still steal a base anytime I get ready.”
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