By Eddie Mathews

"I don't know where Hank Aaron will break Ruth's record but I can tell you one thing - ten years from the day he hits it three million people will say they were there."

"I'm just a beat up old third baseman. I'm just a small part of a wonderful game that is a tremendous part of America today."

"It's only a hitch when you're in a slump. When you're hitting the ball its called rhythm."

"My mother used to pitch to me and my father would shag balls. If I hit one up the middle close to my mother, I'd have some extra chores to do. My mother was instrumental in making me a pull hitter."

"When you're a kid, what fun the game is! You grab a bat and glove and ball, that's it. I know what Ted Williams and Stan Musial meant when they said it got tougher to get in shape every year."

"I didn't like being a salesman. I wasn't a closer. I'd go in and talk baseball for half an hour and walk out without mentioning my product."


About Eddie Mathews

"Between me and my roommate, we've hit 400 Major League home runs."
-- Bob Uecker, a rookie who was rooming with Mathews and had only hit one homerun

"I've only known three or four perfect swings in my time. This lad has one of them."
--Ty Cobb

"We weren't jealous of each other at all. That's one reason we were so successful."
--teammate Hank Aaron

"We were always a winner and players like Eddie Mathews were the reason we were winners."
--teammate Frank Torre

"I think he was one of the greatest third basemen of all time. He had one of the sweetest swings I ever saw."
--teammate Johnny Logan

"It's a sad day. I loved Eddie. When you saw him play, you knew you were seeing greatness."
--Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig