Quotes

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