I always performed out of fear of failure - and that's a tough way to play. It was as if my back was to the wall and I was constantly surrounded by very dangerous people that were not friendly to me.
— Keith Hernandez
I am a human being. I have anxiety. I have doubts. And I'm not afraid to put it out there.
My father was a San Francisco firefighter. He also was an amateur artist. Art ran deep on his side of the family, which originated in Spain. He painted our portraits. My mom, Jacqueline, was Scots-Irish. They met in 1947 when dad played for the Houston Buffalos, a minor league baseball team affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals.
The great thing about Little League was that anyone could play it.
I had great moments. I had not-great moments.
Three hours for an average game is not good for baseball.
The best class I ever took in high school was typing.
I always got good grades in creative writing from elementary school on up.
I love baseball.
I won't say that women belong in the kitchen, but they don't belong in the dugout.
I didn't cost the Series. I cost a game in the regular season.
I remember, as a kid, I couldn't wait to get my library card, get my first book. There was a sphinx on the cover, and I figured I was going to read about the Egyptians. But it was this archeology. It was so dry. But I forced myself to read it because it was my first book out of the library. Should have gotten a 'Hardy Boys.'
I'm just another guy who likes his job and doesn't like his commute.
Baseball began early for me. When I was 5, my father took two Little League bats and put them on a lathe. He whittled them down and sanded the bats so they were the proper size for my brother and me. He began by throwing tennis balls to us. Eventually, we practiced hitting and fielding at a field near our house.
I played football in the fall when I was in high school. Then basketball, a different conditioning - you're running up and down the courts. Then you come into baseball, you're doing a sprint to hit a triple.
I went through a lot of hard times. I went through a lot of struggle. A few times, I was in tears. It brought me to my knees just about.
My high school coach was a bit of a jerk.
I love to read, and I've always loved to write.
A pitcher's arm goes, and they're done.
You never know what's going to happen the rest of the way. You can't predict. You don't know what Montreal is going to do to us this weekend, and you don't know what the Cubs are going to do to the Cardinals.
You can always improve your bench and relief pitching.
The Yankees have better starting pitchers than Arizona. Arizona just has two... the Yanks have four.
I've been to Gettysburg probably more than half a dozen times.
When I was little, my older brother, Gary, was forced to read a book a week in fourth grade. The books he liked he threw on my bed when he was finished with them. This continued throughout my childhood and made me a reader for life.
In New York, I have a photo of my parents on their wedding day in 1947. They're beaming at home plate in Houston's Buffalo Stadium. I love the photo because my dad is smiling. He didn't smile much in his later years.
I don't believe in playing just one sport. I believe it results in burnout, and each sport trains your body in a different way.
Who cares how many miles per hour the ball traveled once it left the bat, or how high the ball traveled in degrees, or how many seconds it took to leave the ballpark?
I like to write, and I try to be positive and optimistic.
I'm pretty sure when I need a comma; I'm not so sure about a semicolon.
I have a natural tendency to resist conformity.
Everyone has someone they looked up to. Mine was Mickey Mantle. For Alex Rodriguez to idolize me coming up, that makes me feel very good.
Acting is really not what I'm interested in. I'm not an aspiring actor and you should be able to tell.
They can't have Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling lose a game.
