I didn't get over 1300 walks without knowing the strike zone.

I didn't get over 1300 walks without knowing the strike zone.

The things he did inspired me to play the game at that level, ... When I retired in 1999, I grounded out to second and gave it everything I had running down to first base in my last at-bat. I always felt if I disrespected the game by not hustling and giving everything I had, it's circumstances of cheating the fans — you're cheating the fans, you're cheating your teammates and disrespecting the name that's on the front of your jersey.

When I was with the Red Sox, there was no rivalry [compared to] the rivalry that was there in the '70s,

Humbled by the fact that never in a million years would I ever thought that I would be on the same stage with all these great Hall of Famers and enshrined to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

There's a plaque missing in the hallway, as far as I'm concerned. He was one of the greatest hitters in the game. What he did was wrong, but as far as one of the greatest players to ever play the game the right way, he deserves it.