Quotes from Reggie Jackson

Billy Martin was a human tragedy, in the real sense of the words.

If I played in New York, they'd name a candy bar after me.

When people push back on you and don't think you can do it, and you struggle a little bit and wonder if they're right, it drives you to be successful and to be a great player.

Nature is extremely important to me. Which may be just about the only trouble I'll have in New York. I'll miss the trees!

I never had an understanding of Billy Martin. I did not accept the way he managed me. I did not accept the way he managed Ken Holtzman. I thought there was anti-Semitism there.

The greatest manager has a knack for making ballplayers think they are better than they think they are.

You don't face Nolan Ryan without your rest. He's the only guy I go against that makes me go to bed before midnight.

Ali helped raise black people in this country out of mental slavery. The entire experience of being black changed for millions of people because of Ali.

When you've played this game for ten years and gone to bat seven-thousand times and gotten two-thousand hits do you know what that really means? It means you've gone zero for five-thousand.

A baseball swing is a very finely tuned instrument. It is repetition, and more repetition, then a little more after that.

When you take a pitch and line it somewhere, it's like you've thought of something and put it there with beautiful clarity.

A great manager has a knack for making ballplayers think they are better than they think they are. He forces you to have a good opinion of yourself. He lets you know he believes in you. He makes you get more out of yourself. And once you learn how good you really are, you never settle for playing anything less than your very best.

When I stepped into the box, I felt the at-bat belonged to me. Everybody else was there for my convenience. The pitcher was there to throw me a ball to hit. The catcher was there to throw it back to him if he didn't give me what I wanted the first time. And the umpire was lucky that he was close enough to watch.

Misconception Number 1, the public always thought, 'Reggie has a massive ego; he's narcissistic, he's cocky, he needs everyone to look at him all the time,' because that's what the media told them. Wrong. I could handle the attention. I didn't let the attention affect my performance. But I never needed the attention.

I've always been able to hear and read what I say before I say it. That's why I'm a good quote. Or a good interview. If I say something that's uncomfortable for someone's ears, it's going to be the truth; I just happen to voice it. But it's the truth. It's not my opinion.

I represent both the underdog and the overdog in our society.

Fans don't boo nobodies.

The only way I'm going to win a Gold Glove is with a can of spray paint.

There are at least three kinds of advantages that the pitcher and batter contest. There's the physical advantage, the strategic advantage, and also the psychological advantage. I didn't want two out of three. I wanted them all.

There's a certain time that when somebody asks you a question, you answer them. I don't think I said anything with venom. If you can express yourself without anger and make it as palatable as you can, that's what you do.

I work for ABC television I have my own syndicated TV series. I've been on the cover of 'Time Magazine' and on the cover of 'Sports Illustrated' five times.