2. "All I had was natural ability."
Mickey Mantle

3. "It was all I lived for, to play baseball."
Mickey Mantle

4, "The only thing I can do is play baseball. I have to play ball. It's the only thing I know."
Mickey Mantle

5. "I always loved the game, but when my legs weren't hurting it was a lot easier to love."
Mickey Mantle

6. "I'll play baseball for the Army or fight for it, whatever they want me to do."
Mickey in 1951 during the controversy of whether he should be drafted by the Army

7. "He's the best prospect I've ever seen."
Branch Rickey on Mickey in 1951

8. "I never saw a player who had greater promise."
Casey Stengel on Mickey

9. "That boy Mantle is a good one."
Ty Cobb

10. "Mantle had more ability than any player I ever had on that club."
Casey Stengel

11. "You're going to be a great player, kid."
Jackie Robinson to Mickey Mantle after the 1952 World Series

12. "He can run, steal bases, throw, hit for average, and hit with power like I've never  seen. Just don't put him at shortstop."
Minor league manager Harry Craft on Mickey

13. "His fielding leaves you wondering. Then he steps up to hit and all doubts start to fade."
New York Post writer Arch Murray on Mickey in spring training 1951

14. "There isn't any more that I can teach him."
Yankee great Tommy Henrich on Mickey in spring training in 1951

15. "That kid can hit balls over buildings."
Casey Stengel on Mickey in 1951

16. "If that guy were healthy he'd hit 80 home runs."
Carl Yastrzemski on Mickey Mantle

17. "I'd give the Yankees a quarter of a million dollars for him, and bury him in thousand dollar bills as a signing bonus."
White Sox G. M. Frank Lane on Mickey in 1951

18. "It's what you're worth."
Yankees' G. M. George Weiss to Mickey after offering him a $17,000 pay cut for the 1958 season - Mickey batted 12 points higher than in 1956 but hadn't won the Batting Title or the Triple Crown like he did in 1956

19. "I'd say Mantle is the greatest player in either league."
St. Louis Brown's Manager Marty Marion

20. "Let's see - uh, yes. There's one thing he can't do very well. He can't throw left-handed. When he goes in for that we'll have the perfect ballplayer"
St. Louis Brown's Manager Marty Marion when asked if Mickey had a weakness

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