Rod Carew

“You've got to have one of those guys on your ball club that, when you have runners on scoring position, you know that guy is going to drive the ball and put the ball in play and pick them up.”

“Harmon Killebrew was a gem. I can never thank him enough for all I learned from him. He was a consummate professional who treated everyone from the brashest of rookies to the groundskeepers to the ushers in the stadium with the utmost of respect.”

“When I was 11, I spent eight months in the hospital with rheumatic fever and almost died.”

“Every time I come back to the Twin Cities, I feel like I'm coming back home.”

“I go back to when my youngest daughter was dying. I never asked my Friend Upstairs, 'Why me?' And He's the only one who has the answers.”

“I always felt like I was healthy; I never felt like anything was wrong with me. Until the morning that I had a massive heart attack. On the golf course, by myself.”

“I'm more conscious of where the outfielders are playing when I'm on base, and I don't take such wide turns anymore running around the bases. I'm still learning.”

“Here I am, a black man with a white man's heart. In the end, that's what God wants us to do. He wants us to help, and he wants us to share.”

“My daughter told me, 'Daddy, if I don't make it, I don't want you to stop helping these other kids.' So that's where I've been able to go on. I tell people - and I really believe this - I didn't lose a daughter; I gained so many other kids.”

“To me, I was just doing my job when I took the field, but to understand how close I came to death, I now realize what God has given me when he brought me into this world; he knew what he was doing.”

“Get your heart checked. I've always looked at myself as healthy, but I wasn't.”

“Our commitment to coaches will be realized via TeamCarew, a grassroots marketing program that will provide them with insight and tools to teach the art and science of hitting.”

“There is a special sensation in getting good wood on the ball and driving a double down the left-field line as the crowd in the ballpark rises to its feet and cheers. But, I also remember how much fun I had as a skinny barefoot kid hitting a tennis ball with a broomstick on a quiet, dusty street in Panama.”

“Hitting is an art, but not an exact science.”

“If you didn't know Fred Claire, you didn't know anyone.”

“I never liked talking about myself or my background because I hated bringing back bad memories. And sometimes when I talked, it would come out the wrong way, and I'd look like a jerk. That's why I became an enigma to people.”

“You just can't spend any time second-guessing yourself.”

“My job has usually been to get on base so others can drive me in.”

“Back when I first came up with the Twins as a second baseman, Billy worked with me on my fielding, on playing the game, on being heads-up, hustling, always doing my best, not alibiing. And when he was the Twins' manager, I enjoyed playing for him.”

“Your first hit in the majors - that's tops. It means you're on your way. When you get the first hit, then you can get the rest.”