Eric Davis

“I could've played basketball, but my mind was on baseball. I didn't know what I was in for. In high school it was a matter of talent. No one told you what to do.”

“I don't think any player lives up to his potential, because people out there put you so high on a pedestal, you'll never be as good as they expect.”

“I don't even take aspirin.”

“I've been hearing this since I first joined the Reds organization, that I'm going to be the next this or that. It's tough on a young player coming up. You show some positive things and everybody jumps on that and says you should be the next Willie Mays.”

“I don't listen to what people say about me and I don't read what they write about me. People can compare me to anyone they want to, but I'm not going to worry about it.”

“I've been operated on 13 times.”

“Most of the places I've been, I've been a main piece of the puzzle.”

“I want to establish myself as the first Eric Davis, not the next Willie Mays.”

“I'm being compared to the impossible. I never saw Mays, Aaron or Clemente play. What about the people I face every day? Tim Raines is the best? Mattingly is the best? Why not compare me to my peers?”

“You can't get more appreciation than that, to be elected by the fans. That's the ultimate, really.”

“You don't protect Mark McGwire. The only way to protect him is hit 70 homers yourself.”