The New York Yankees are one of the most famous and successful franchises in baseball and sports history. It was a team known for its power players, from Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio to Yogi Berra, Don Mattingly, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera. Of course, the legendary team can't be mentioned without the great Mickey Mantle, one of the most beloved players ever. According to the Society for American Baseball Research, Mantle revolutionized the art of switch-hitting. These are Mickey Mantle's most iconic quotes about life and baseball.
During baseball's 1950s-'60s Golden Era, few stars shined brighter than Mantle, who was the quintessential "all-American" on the field if not off it. His achievements helped the Yankees become the most successful sports team of the era. A switch-hitter who could hit towering home runs from both sides of the plate, he hit 536 home runs, had 2,415 hits, and a .298 batting average during his 18 seasons with the Yankees, a career that also won him three MVP Awards and 16 All-Star Game appearances. He also helped his team win seven championships in 12 World Series and still holds the records for most home runs (18), RBIs (40), and runs scored (42) in World Series play.
His achievements were even more astonishing when you realize he did it while playing through constant pain. He also struggled with alcohol during his career. Mantle always remained humble and self-effacing and was always friendly with fans. Many of these quotes we've collected reflect his humility and great sense of humor. While Mantle may not be quite as quotable as fellow teammate Yogi Berra, some of his quotes are up there with the greatest baseball quotes of all time.
"All I had was natural ability."
"It was all I lived for, to play baseball."
"Somebody once asked me if I ever went up to the plate trying to hit a home run. I said, 'Sure, every time.'"
"Hitting the ball was easy. Running around the bases was the tough part."
"If I knew I'd live this long, I would have taken better care of myself."
"After I hit a home run I had a habit of running the bases with my head down. I figured the pitcher already felt bad enough without me showing him up rounding the bases."
"All the ballparks and the big crowds have a certain mystique. You feel attached, permanently wedded to the sounds that ring out, to the fans chanting your name, even when there are only four or five thousand in the stands on a Wednesday afternoon."
"In 1960 when Pittsburgh beat us in the World Series, we outscored them 55-27. It was the only time I think the better team lost. I was so disappointed I cried on the plane ride home."
"It's unbelievable how much you don't know about the game you've been playing all your life."
"Sometimes I think if I had the same body and the same natural ability and someone else's brain, who knows how good a player I might have been."
"I don't care who you are, you hear those boos."
"The only thing I can do is play baseball. I have to play ball. It's the only thing I know."
"To play eighteen years in Yankee Stadium is the best thing that could ever happen to a ballplayer."
"Baseball was my whole life. Nothing's ever been as fun as baseball."
"I never knew how someone who was dying could say he was the luckiest man in the world. But now I understand." (about Lou Gehrig)
"When I hit a home run I usually didn't care where it went. So long as it was a home run was all that mattered."
