Roberto Clemente (1934–1972) Puerto Rican baseball player
On hitting at Forbes Field; as quoted and paraphrased in "Clemente Unorthodox?" Well, He Gets Results"
Baseball-related, <big><big>1960s</big></big>
Advice given to teammate Dick Stuart on April 7, 1959, as quoted in "The Scoreboard: Meet Ball, Homers Will Come, Clemente Assures Stuart" https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IEIqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aU4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=7149,2639076 by Les Biederman, in The Pittsburgh Press (Wednesday, April 8, 1959), p. 43 <br class="br">Baseball-related, <big><big>1950s</big></big>, <big>1959</big>
Roberto Clemente (1934–1972) Puerto Rican baseball player
On hitting at Forbes Field; as quoted and paraphrased in "Clemente Unorthodox?" Well, He Gets Results"
Baseball-related, <big><big>1960s</big></big>
“I swing as hard as I can, and I try to swing right through the ball.”
Babe Ruth (1895–1948) American baseball player
As quoted in Go for the Gold: Thoughts on Achieving Your Personal Best (2001) by Ariel Books
Context: I swing as hard as I can, and I try to swing right through the ball. In boxing, your fist usually stops when you hit a man, but its possible to hit so hard that your fist doesn't stop. I try to follow through in the same way. The harder you grip the bat, the more you can swing it through the ball, and the farther the ball will go. I swing big, with everything I've got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.
Roberto Clemente (1934–1972) Puerto Rican baseball player
Speaking before Game 7 of the 1971 World Series, as quoted in "Numero Uno: Roberto!" http://www.mediafire.com/view/1vobx891junlic4/.JPG (1973) by Bill Christine, p. 141 <br class="br">Baseball-related, <big><big>1970s</big></big>
Babe Ruth (1895–1948) American baseball player
As quoted in "The Sportlight" by Grantland Rice, in The Baltimore Sun (August 22, 1930), p. 13
Albert Pujols (1980) Dominican-American baseball player
When asked what type of hitter he would consider himself to be. http://sports.ign.com/articles/709/709384p1.html
“I always swing at the ball with all my might. I hit or miss big”
Babe Ruth (1895–1948) American baseball player
From "'Keep Your Eye On the Ball'; No, Not Golf, It's Babe Ruth," http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1920/08/13/page/11/ by Ruth (as told to Pegler), in The Chicago Tribune (August 13, 1920), p. 11; reprinted as "How to Hit Home Runs," https://books.google.com/books?id=SAAlxi-0EZYC&pg=PA29&dq=%22I+always+swing%22+%22hit+or+miss+big%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjZzNH7oM3QAhWJ4iYKHUCwC8wQ6AEIFDAA#v=onepage&q=%22I%20always%20swing%22%20%22hit%20or%20miss%20big%22&f=false in Playing the Game: My Early Years in Baseball, p. 29 <br class="br">Context: I always swing at the ball with all my might. I hit or miss big and when I miss I know it long before the umpire calls a strike on me, for every muscle in my back, shoulders and arms is groaning, "You missed it." And believe me, it is no fun to miss a ball that hard. Once I put myself out of the game for a few days by a miss like that.
Roberto Clemente (1934–1972) Puerto Rican baseball player
As quoted in "Clemente Says Hitting Does Not Come Easy" https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UagkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xqAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5876%2C6101257 by Ralph Bernstein (AP), in The Reading Eagle (March 26, 1968) <br class="br">Baseball-related, <big><big>1960s</big></big>, <big>1968</big>
Jack Buck (1924–2002) American sportscaster
Calling the final out of the 1987 National League Championship Series as the Cardinals advanced to the 1987 World Series.
1980s
Sandy Koufax (1935) American baseball player
As quote in "Quote... : Father knows best; Soviet hindsight; Life in the NBA: Koufax strategy," The Christian Science Monitor (June 24, 1976), p. 11
Roberto Clemente (1934–1972) Puerto Rican baseball player
On how being right-handed negatively impacted his chances of batting .400, as quoted in "Aches, Pains... and Base Hits" https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=W6lWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xecDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7036%2C4509721 by Jim Murray, in The Los Angeles Times (August 10, 1971). Also see the above comment (August 11, 1964) re "stepping in the bucket." <br class="br">Baseball-related, <big><big>1970s</big></big>, <big>1971</big>