In 1962 I was named Minor League Player of the Year. It was my second season in the bigs.

There have been so many great players that I’ve played with, that I’ve played against over the years.

These old ballparks are like cathedrals in America. We don’t have big old Gothic cathedrals like they do in Europe. But we got baseball parks.

We’re not going to go 82-0 and blow everybody out. We are going to be challenged.

You know, I’m just 6’9 and 260. And just so happen to be very good at playing the game of basketball.“

I signed a very modest $3,000 bonus with the Braves in Milwaukee. And my old man didn’t have that kinda money to put out.

Sports are such a great teacher. I think of everything they’ve taught me: camaraderie, humility, how to resolve differences.

If I hit a man, his head is gonna go into the bleachers.

Poets are like baseball pitchers. Both have their moments. The intervals are the tough things.

I am a professional sportswriter, among other things, and I take the games seriously. It is only one of my many powerful addictions, and I don’t mind admitting any of them.

There is something special which rides on a game between Liverpool and United.

The only time my prayers are never answered is on the golf course.

My game is really played above time. I don’t say that like I’m saying I’m ahead of my time. I’m saying, like, if I’m on the court and I throw a pass, the ball that I’ve thrown will lead my teammate right where he needs to go, before he even knows that that’s the right place to go to.

Cage Warriors is a brilliant organisation. They’re doing great things for European MMA, and they’re giving the platform for guys like me who came through. They’re vital. I’m forever grateful for the opportunities I got.

When I signed up for BFC, then-coach Ashley Westwood wanted me to play on the left as an attacking midfielder. I was not sure initially but I believed in his vision. For the first six-seven games, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I was like a headless chicken. But he kept backing me.

I treated it like every day was my last day with a basketball.

Every time I get in the McLaren I feel more comfortable, my confidence increases and I feel more at home with the team.

My main focus is always to do well on the field for the Indian cricket team. When people say good things about me off the field, I am more than happy to accept them.

I set records that will never be equaled. In fact, I hope 90% of them don’t even get printed.

My first win feels better than a draw!

I’m a golfer, and what are the two sports you can do till you drop? Golf and surfing. They’re great for you limber-wise, they’re great for you health-wise, and they put you in sweet locations.

I used to play a lot of different sports. Now when I look back, I understand that it really helped with my hand-eye coordination.

There are two bowlers who I think are very tough to play against – Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.

I just want to do well with the national team.

I felt unhappy and trapped. If I left baseball, where could I go, what could I do to earn enough money to help my mother and to marry Rachel? The solution to my problem was only days away in the hands of a tough, shrewd, courageous man called Branch Rickey, the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

As a kid, I used to see how Sachin Tendulkar used to win matches under pressure for India in Sharjah or other places. So I was always keen to repeat the same in similar situations. I don’t take pressure on myself when I am in the middle. I love pressure, and I always believe that pressure makes you more focused.

As soon as I got out there I felt a strange relationship with the pitcher’s mound. It was as if I’d been born out there. Pitching just felt like the most natural thing in the world. Striking out batters was easy.

As an athlete, you’d better laugh at yourself when you slip in the mud.

I look at athletes in all sports and try to picture what kind of football player they’d be, what position they’d play and so on.

Cleveland fans are awesome.

Any teammate of mine that had a kid and a boy that was capable of playing baseball, I think I set a terrific example of ‚Don’t do this‘ and ‚Don’t do that.‘ And that’s one of the things that I’m most proud of.

You can say that 2016 was my finest. It went well for the national team, started by winning the SAFF Cup, we reached the finals of AFC Cup, we reached the semis of ISL. I think it was a fruitful season.

Great geniuses have the shortest biographies.

Everyone needs a coach. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a basketball player, a tennis player, a gymnast or a bridge player.

Duke is an ugly word in Kentucky. Nothing in the world compares to the joy of beating those hateful swine from Duke.

I won at every level – all the way since I started playing the game of basketball at nine. I’ve won at every level, won championships at every level. And, you know, it won’t be fulfilled until I win at the highest level.

Of course awards matter.

In England, when an athlete gets to the top, we do our best to destroy him.

I’ve taken countless shots in my life, so you know the ones when you’re in rhythm, with a perfect release, and it’s on track, that it’s going in.

If a guy hits .300 every year, what does he have to look forward to? I always tried to stay around .190, with three or four RBI. And I tried to get them all in September. That way I always had something to talk about during the winter.

If you watch any good player, they’re using different parts of their body and working with instruments that respond to those movements. They’re moving in many dimensions at once.

We don’t want people to leave the stadium until the game finishes.

Going to college offered me the chance to play football for four more years.

Serious sport is war minus the shooting.

They used to call me ‚Touchdown T.‘ I remember in high school, we had homecoming, and I got in front of the pep rally, and I told them, ‚I’m going to run for three touchdowns.‘ I ran for three touchdowns, kicked the extra point, and took myself out the game.

Be a player; don’t play yourself. And don’t play basketball. That’s not your sport, Jeb Bush.

I had a good time boxing. I enjoyed it – and I may come back.

The biggest thrill a ballplayer can have is when your son takes after you. That happened when my Bobby was in his championship Little League game. He really showed me something. Struck out three times. Made an error that lost the game. Parents were throwing things at our car and swearing at us as we drove off. Gosh, I was proud.

Most home teams have chapels, so when I’m on the road I’ll probably go to their services.

Comfort and luxury are usually the chief requirements of life for your ego – its top priorities tend to be accumulations, achievements, and the approval of others.

Baseball changes through the years. It gets milder.

Everybody asks if putting is like shooting free throws. It has a very similar kind of mindset. And it’s just you, the ball, and the target.

I signed for Mohun Bagan and then I got the news that Bhaichung also joined the club. The first day he met me he told me that I have heard about you and you are doing well. I told everyone in my family and friends that Bhaichung told me that.

A coach, especially at a college level – much more at a college or high school level, than at a pro level – you’re more of a teacher than an actual coach.

I am not a dreamer. I am a football romantic.

Never put your money against Cassius Clay, for you will never have a lucky day.

I know my serve stinks, but I was a pretty good tennis player.

The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they do not know the game.

I don’t really care how the Patriots are perceived, truthfully. I really don’t. I really don’t. Look, if you’re a fan of our team, you root for us, you believe in our team, and you believe in what we’re trying to accomplish. If you’re not a fan of us, you have a different opinion.

Talking to a player helps, but in our sport the majority of learning happens from watching another player. You pick up things like being punctual, being nice to everyone, making sure you give your 100 per cent even in training.

Nothing extraordinary happens to a cricketer if you time his career – which is very short.