"A baseball swing is a very finely tuned instrument. It is repetition, and more repetition, then a little more after that." Source: Reggie (Reggie Jackson, 1984)

"After Jackie Robinson the most important black in baseball history is Reggie Jackson, I really mean that." Source: Life (January 1988)

"Blind people come to the park just to listen to him (Tom Seaver) pitch." Source: All Time Greatest Sports Quotes (Great Quotations, Inc.)

"Every hitter likes fastballs just like everybody likes ice cream. But you don't like it when someone's stuffing it into you by the gallon. That's how you feel when (Nolan) Ryan's throwing balls by you." Source: Newsweek (June 16, 1975)

"Fans don't boo nobodies." Source: Baseball Illustrated (1975)

"For a certain amount of money, you'll eat Alpo." Source: Tampa Tribune (December 25, 1988)

"Guys who play there (Japan), say it gets awfully lonely - Hell, for the money they're talking (over one million in 1989), I can buy some friends and take them with me." Source: Sports Illustrated (January 25, 1988)

"God do I love to hit that little round son-of-a-bitch out of the park and make 'em say 'Wow!'"

"He (Claudell Washington) plays the outfield like he's trying to catch grenades."

"Hitting is better than sex." Source: Esquire (March 1, 1978)

"I am the best in baseball." Source: Reggie (Reggie Jackson, 1984)

"I couldn't quit, because of all the kids, and the blacks, and the little people pulling for me. I represent both the underdog and the overdog in our society."

"I'd like to be able to light the fire a little bit."

"I didn't come to New York to be a star, I brought my star with me."

"I don't mind getting beaten, but I hate to lose." Source: Sepia Magazine (March 1977)

"If I was playing in New York (A's Outfielder in 1973), they'd name a candy bar after me."

"I hate (Billy) Martin because he plays tough, but if I played for him, I'd probably love him."

"I have a hard time believing athletes are overpriced. If an owner is losing money, give it up. It's a business. I have trouble figuring out why owners would stay in if they're losing money." Source: Los Angeles Times (March 9, 1976)

"I'm human and I've played my butt off for ten years. I'm not a loafer, I'm not a jerk, I'm a baseball player."

"I'm the straw that stirs the drink"

"In the building I live in on Park Avenue there are ten people who could buy the Yankees, but none of them could hit the ball out of Yankee Stadium."

"It's a fickle town (New York), a tough town. They getcha, boy. They don't let you escape with minor scratches and bruises. They put scars on you here."

"I used to dream how good it would be to be Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle. My dreams have died. Even the rotten rings aren't what they're supposed to be. I'll buy my own diamonds. I can afford it now. No one gives you anything, you've got to get it for yourself."

"I was reminded (by Jim Bouton) that when we lose and I strike out, a billion people in China don't care."

"October, that's when they pay off for playing ball."

"Please God, let me hit one. I'll tell everybody you did it."

"So many ideas come to you (when slumping) and you want to try the all but you can't. You're like a mosquito in a nudist camp. You don't know where to start." Source: The Sporting News (June 20, 1970)

"The only difference between me and those other great Yankees is my skin color." Source: High Inside (Gagnon Torrez)

"The only reason I don't like playing in the World Series is I can't watch myself play."

"The only way I'm going to win a Gold Glove is with a can of spray paint."

"The will to win is worthless if you don't get paid for it." Source: Grand Slams and Fumbles (Peter Beilenson)

"To walk out (in Spring Training) and feel your spikes in the grass is a good feeling."

"When you take a pitch and line it somewhere, it's like you've thought of something and put it there with beautiful clarity."

"When you've played this game for ten years and gone to bat seven-thousand times and gotten two-thousand hits do you know what that really means? It means you've gone zero for five-thousand." Source: Christian Science Monitor (September 20, 1974)

"You don't face (Nolan) Ryan without your rest. He's the only guy I go against that makes me go to bed before midnight." Source: Reggie (Reggie Jackson, 1984)

"You know, this game's not very much fun when you're only hitting .247."

"He'd give you the shirt off his back. Of course he'd call a press conference to announce it." - Catfish Hunter

"I go back to 1965 with Reggie, but I guess I don't go far enough back to remember when he was shy." - Rick Monday

"I must admit, when Reggie hit his third home run (1977 World Series) and I was sure nobody was looking, I applauded in my glove." - Steve Garvey

"It's not that Reggie is a bad outfielder. He just has trouble judging the ball and picking it up." - New York Yankees Manager Billy Martin

"Just as nature fills a vacuum, Reggie fills a spotlight." - Bob Marshall

"Mark Twain said that politicians, old buildings, and prostitutes become respectable with age. Reggie Jackson would like to make it a foursome." - Thomas Boswell in How Life Imitates the World Series (1982)

"Reggie always believes he has the upper hand. He thinks pitchers are moaning, 'Oh no, here comes Reggie Jackson.'" - Broadcaster Fran Healy

"Reggie Jackson couldn't shine Willie Mays' shoes. He never hit .300, he's a butcher in the outfield and he's got a big mouth. What does he make, $8,000 a week? I wouldn't pay him $8 a week. He's a bum." - Major League Manager Leo Durocher (1980)

"There isn't enough mustard in the whole world to cover that hot dog." - Darold Knowles

"The thing about Reggie is that you know he's going to produce. And if he doesn't, he's going to talk enough to make people think he's going to produce." - Catfish Hunter

"When you unwrap a Reggie bar, it tells you how good it is." - Catfish Hunter

"Your first name's white, your second is Hispanic, and your third belongs to a black. No wonder you don't know who you are." - Mickey Rivers (on Reginald Martinez Jackson)