“Baseball. If there's a more beautiful word in the English language. I have yet to hear it....baseball has served as such a powerful link between Dad and me, and later between me and my son.”

“His [Luke]letter went something like this: "Dear Mr President, Thank you for introducing me to the Hall of Famers and for showing me the Oval Office. I think if I work really hard I will have a chance for both."The next time I saw the president I told him about my son's ambitious plans. His response was beautiful: "Never get between a boy and his dreams”

“The best exercise for the human heart is reaching down to lift someone else up.”

“The best exercise for your heart, is reaching out and helping somebody.”

“Drunk on sports all over again, just like a seven-year old in New Jersey whose mom has just bought him two packs of baseball cards for ten cents.”

“American Baseball It's for real, not for practice, and it's televised,not secret, the way you'd expect a civilized countryto handle delicate things, it's in color, it's happeningnow in Florida, "This Is American Baseball" the announcerannounces as the batter enters the box, we are watching,and it could be either of us standing there waitingfor the pitch, avoiding the eye of the pitcher as we takea few practice cuts, turning to him and his tiny friends inthe outfield, facing the situation, knowing that someonebehind our backs is making terrible gestures, standingthere to swing and miss the way I miss you, wanting to be outof uniform, out of breath, in your car, in love again, learningall the signals for the first time, they way we learned the rulesof night baseball as high-school freshman: first base, you kissher, second base, her breasts, third, you're in her pants, and home is where the heart wants to be all the time, but seldomcan reach past the obstacle course of space, the home in ourperfect future we wanted so badly, and want more than ever sincewe learned we won't live there, which happens to lovers in civilizedcountries all the time, and happens too in American baseball whenyou strike out and remember what the game really meant.”

“They took a baseball batand whacked open his head.Mummy Boy fell to the ground;he finally was dead. Inside of his headwere no candy or prizes,just a few stray beetlesof various sizes.”