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At ten I was playing against 18-year-old guys. At 15 I was playing professional ball with the Birmingham Black Barons, so I really came very quickly in all sports.

Willie Mays

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Willie Mays
Age: 93
Born: 1931
Born: May 6
Baseball Player
Jefferson County
Alabama
Willie Howard Mays Jr.
Willie Howard Mays
The Say Hey Kid
Really
Guys
Playing
Barons
Sports
Birmingham
Came
Professional
Guy
Ball
Year
Quickly
Black
Balls
Years
Ten

More quotes by Willie Mays

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I would try and help everybody, because the game was so easy for me. It was just like walking in the park.
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Youngsters of Little League can survive undercoaching a lot better than overcoaching.
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I don't know what Joe (DiMaggio) wanted (in regards to being called 'the greatest living ballplayer'), but I don't have a problem, if he wanted to do that. He was my hero. Joe was the best all-around player. Joe was the best. I only played against him once, in the '51 Series.
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I played with the Birmingham Black Barons. I was making 500 at 14. That was a lot of money in those days.
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In order to excel, you must be completely dedicated to your chosen sport. You must also be prepared to work hard and be willing to accept constructive criticism. Without one-hundred percent dedication, you won't be able to do this.
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Defense to me is the key to playing baseball.
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They throw the ball, I hit it. They hit the ball, I catch it.
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Baseball is a game, yes. It is also a business.
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I'm not the type of guy to go out and just say, 'Hey, I'm raising my fist to do this and do that.' I don't think I'm that type of guy. I wasn't a leader the way other people may have wanted me to be.
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I was very blessed with a good body. Never got hurt. Never was in the hospital. The only time I was in the hospital was when I would get exhausted a little bit, and go in for a check-up or something.
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What's tough is being good every day.
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When I got to professional ball I used to play 150 games every year. It depends on how many games there was.
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I don't mean to be bashful, but I was
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I always enjoyed playing ball, and it didn't matter to me whether I played with white kids or black. I never understood why an issue was made of who I played with, and I never felt comfortable, when I grew up, telling other people how to act
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That's how easy baseball was for me. I'm not trying to brag or anything, but I had the knowledge before I became a professional baseball player to do all these things and know what each guy would hit.
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When I was in Birmingham I used to go to a place called Redwood Field. I used to get there for a two o'clock game. Where can you make this kind of money playing sports? It was just a pleasure to go out and enjoy myself and get paid for it.
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In order to excel, you must be completely dedicated.
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The catch off Bobby Morgan (a backhanded grab of the Brooklyn Dodger's line drive in September 1951 at Ebbets Field) in Brooklyn was the best catch I ever made. Jackie Robinson and (Giants manager) Leo Durocher were the first people I saw when I opened my eyes
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What you are thinking, what shape your mind is in, is what makes the biggest difference of all.
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When I'm not hitting, I don't hit nobody. But, when I'm hitting, I hit anybody.
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