Hank Quotes - page 3

Dear Sirs: I feel compelled to write you concerning your article, "The World's Toughest Batting Orders-As Selected by Ten Star Major League Pitchers," which appeared in the March 31 Family Weekly. I think it is a shame that such unproven players such as Dave Concepcion are placed in a lineup of "toughest outs." I agree that Hank Aaron, Billy Williams, Rod Carew and Willie Stargell are among the greatest hitters the game has ever known, but it certainly did not take your panel long to forget Roberto Clemente. (Roberto Clemente)
Just watching him play [when he first came up in 1955], his actions, right then and there you knew he was a pretty good little player. I said the same thing about Hank Aaron when I first saw him ... I just felt that the way Clemente and Aaron swung the bat, so quick, and the way they handled themselves, that they had it. They had God-given ability. They just had to work to bring it out. I played with both of them. I liked Roberto, but people ask me, "Which one would you take if you had to make a choice?" and I'd take Henry. He could hit the ball harder, with more power, and he hit a lot more home runs. I'd love to have both of them on my team. View quote
Roberto Clemente
I think Clemente is the only superstar in our league. Well, he and Hank Aaron. Today, he just hit everything I had. He hit a slider for a single, a fastball for a triple and another slider for the home run. He's something. View quote
Roberto Clemente
I also threw the slider a couple of times. I threw the slider to Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente, because I figured if it worked on those two great hitters, then I had something there. So I threw it to Aaron and almost hit him in the face. He reached out to get it, and it came right at him. And I threw it to Clemente. You may remember that in Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, there was a light tower by where they used to park the batting cage. Halfway up. there was a bunch of transformers. Well, Clemente hit it off a transformer. I said, "Well, maybe I don't have a slider," and I gave it up.So, I never came up with a third pitch. View quote
Roberto Clemente
Hank Aaron. But there are more than Henry. Clemente, Willie Stargell, Williams, Pete Rose – they're all tough. View quote
Roberto Clemente
Another guy that never got attention was Roberto Clemente. He was something else. He had a great arm and he could hit. He was a little more flamboyant than Hank, but not like Mays. Willie constantly threw to the wrong base, though, or overthrew the cutoff man to show off his arm. We always kept running on Willie. Don't get me wrong, he was a great player, but I would take Aaron or Clemente over Mays any time. View quote
Roberto Clemente
Here's that Clemente swing once again. Look at that bat stay back; cocked. Now, a trademark: hitting off the front foot! Look at that right foot, the rear foot, a foot off the ground-something that is not advisable as a hitter, but don't tell that to Clemente, or Hank Aaron. View quote
Roberto Clemente
Hank Aaron is making himself look foolish by going around in a pout every time some white athlete wins an award. His latest tantrum involves Babe Ruth being named No. 1 athlete of all time, over Muhammad Ali. A man's mind has to be pretty mixed up to believe Babe Ruth is overrated because he was white ... If Hank really wants to be upset, let him protest the fact that, in the same poll, Jackie Robinson finished 50th to Henry Aaron's 15th, Jack Dempsey finished in a 34th-place tie with John Havlicek, Roberto Clemente was 111th to Billie Jean King's 21st, and Jack Johnson was shut out completely on the 150-name list. View quote
Roberto Clemente