"Everybody kind of perceives me as being angry. It's not anger, it's motivation."

"He (Bo Jackson) hit the ball so hard, I couldn't even turn around in time to see it go over the fence."

"He's (George Steinbrenner) the one who gave me a chance to get to the World Series. This is where I wanted to be all along. We had a couple of nice offers from other teams, but I tied my agents' hands. I told them I wanted to be a Yankee."

"I am intense, no question about it. Every time I toe the rubber, it's no different for me than it was in the World Series. That might be somebody's only chance to see me pitch. They might have driven four hours to get there. I'm going to be out there if I can help it."

"I don't really worry about strikeouts except in certain situations when I need them. Then you try, as a pitcher out there, you try and apply pressure that way. You try to put the pressure on the hitter. You know, I don't — the strikeouts, if they come in bunches, that's great. But I'm not looking forward to trying to strike out a lot of guys. If I get two strikes, I'll go to a pitch maybe that will help induce that a little bit. But I got a guy on third, I was in a jam the other day in a game, all those situations, when you need a strikeout there, in big spots. But we are very aware of that fact, that these guys put the ball in play."

"I feel very fortunate and very blessed. I've been doing it for thirteen years and I can't believe I had twenty (strikeouts) again (September 18, 1996). I knew I had a lot, but this is incredible."

"If I put my mind to it, and I put the work in, I have no doubt I could do it (pitch 4-5 additional years), but I made a promise to the people who've supported me for so many years. It's time to give back to my family."

"It (the three-hundred win plateau) will be more exciting when it gets closer, when I get this problem (soreness) over with. I'll be ready to lock and load."

"It's never in the past. This town (Boston), this ballpark (Fenway Park), are a part of me. I worked here. I gave my all here. That's the bottom line. That will never change."

"It's pretty simple, the way I look at it. I became a Hall of Famer here (in New York), with my numbers here and what I've done here, and hopefully three-hundred will be another big part of that. When (former Red Sox general manager Dan) Duquette said that I was done, if I'd have taken his advice and went home, I wouldn't have been a Hall of Famer. So it's a no-brainer. It's definitely pretty easy. Reggie (Jackson) spent five years here, and this will be five for me."

"I was pitching (in the World Series) on all adrenaline and challenging them. I was throwing the ball right down the heart of the plate."

"I wish he (Hank Aaron) were still playing. I'd probably crack his head open to show him how valuable (after Hank Aaron commented that pitchers should not be allowed to win the Most Valuable Player Award) I was."

"I wish there was a bar I could send opposing teams to and get them hammered or something — I could tell my buddies in New York to leave their places open or something. Playing for the Yankees, guys come at you extremely hard. I have to be ready or I'll be embarrassed.''

"My only day off is the day I pitch (in regards to how hard he works out during off-days)."

"Reggie (Jackson), one year from today, if you and me are here (in California) together, it'll be on Pebble Beach (playing golf). I'm done." - Statement he made on April 2003 when asked by Reggie Jackson in the clubhouse, "Roger, let's say you go 22-7, a 2.94, you win four games in the postseason and you guys win it all. What are you going to do?"

"There was no intent. I was fired up and emotional and flung the bat toward the on-deck circle where the batboy was (during Game 2 of the 2000 World Series). I had no idea that Mike (Piazza) was running. I guess it came close to him. I came back into the dugout and I said I've got to get control of my emotions and calm down."

"The soreness I have is expected. I have total movement."

"This (starting on Opening Day) doesn't have anything to do with age or experience. Nobody just gives you this, you have to earn it."

"When you have a chance to take the ball for the world champs, you take the ball."

"Wow. I think my first (postseason experience) one was — it was quite exciting. I was fairly relaxed. I mean, I had a lot of family around at the time, looking back. But, you know, only thing I remember about it is it just went extremely fast. When I look back at the tapes, your first everything, your first All-Star Game, your first playoff experience, it just seems like it went by really fast. That's why I made a point to tell and talk about the other day that having come out of Game 4 against Atlanta, here in the World Series, I wanted to get dressed and back on the bench as quickly as I could so I could absorb some of the sights and sounds, see Mo coming in and realize this was going to happen, finally."

"You can't even count on striking out twenty big-league hitters, I'm just happy to tie it (his own 20k record). I knew that I had it in the upper teens, but then (Bill) Haselman ran out to the mound to let me know I was near the record. I think that made it more emotional for me. I mean that's all but seven guys in the game."

"You have a lot of guys in that clubhouse, again, counting on you to do well. They look forward for you to do that, regardless of age, regardless of experience, regardless of, you know, what other intangibles you bring. They expect you to go out there and do well, and I expect the same from those guys."

"Every time Roger (Clemens) pitches it's exciting, whether it's 289 or 299. It's exciting because we're watching a guy that's going into the Hall of Fame." - Joe Torre

"His ball tonight (20k game on September 18, 1996) was unbelievable. His two-seamers seemed like they were moving a foot. His splits were moving the same way. He was truly un-hittable." - Bill Haselman

"I believe that Roger Clemens might be the best pitcher since World War II. But I'm not sure. I'm not at all sure. With Clemens still going out there every fifth day and throwing thunderbolts, we simply don't have enough perspective on his career to precisely measure his place among the greats. We know that he wasn't as good as Walter Johnson, and we know that he was better than Bob Gibson. But do we really know, in May 2003, that Clemens was better than (Tom) Seaver? No, I don't think we do. We need a few years to put Clemens into perspective. And until we've got that perspective, I have to consider Roger Clemens only the second greatest pitcher since World War II. I might change my mind in a few years, but right now Tom Seaver still takes the imaginary trophy." - Rob Neyer

"If it's 90 degrees with 80 percent humidity, Roger (Clemens) is able to say, 'so what, I've trained in that. I've trained for that.' Actually, his program is harder than the games themselves." - Jeff Mangold (May 24, 2003)

"If there's one iron-law in the Yankee clubhouse, it's the you won't find Roger Clemens at his locker days between starts. He's not signing autographs, he's not making TV appearances and he's certainly not in the players' lounge eating pizza. Instead, the Rocket is in the weight room, consumed by a four-day ritual that he's convinced has kept his elite-caliber fastball in the mid to upper 90s, and has actually prolonged his career." - Bob Klapisch

"It's been said before, but it's true: for Red Sox fans, watching (Roger) Clemens thrive as a Yankee is the equivalent of watching your ex-wife marry your sworn mortal enemy — then live happily ever after." - Sean McAdam

"I watched perfect games by Catfish Hunter and Mike Witt, but this was the most awesome pitching performance I've ever seen." - John McNamara (after the first 20 strikeout game)

"For a while, he was dominant he could beat you with two pitches — his four-seam fastball and his slider. That's all he needed. But then his fastball started to be 92-93 (mph) instead of 98 and he had to make some adjustments." - John Marzano

"Roger (Clemens) is in another world when he's pitching. He's there, but he's not there." - Derek Jeter

"Roger (Clemens) is the one who taught me that better shape you're in, the better you'll throw the ball," Pettitte said. "If I've had four good workouts between my starts, I take that confidence to the mound with me. How can it not help me to think that way?" - Andy Pettitte

"Roger's (Clemens) in such great shape, I have no doubt he could keep pitching for four, five more years if he wanted to." - Andy Pettitte

"Roger (Clemens) said he was really gung-ho out there (during Game 2 of the 2000 World Series). He was pumped up for the game, and when the bat went flying towards him (Mike Piazza), for an instant he thought it was the ball coming. When the bat hit him in the shin and he picked it up, then he knew it was a bat. But he said all he was doing was trying to get it off the field. I've seen people pick up the bat and give it to the batboy, but not at that velocity. Intent wasn't what I was after (during the interview). Roger deserved to be heard. If there was going to be a significant fine ($50,000 was the final amount), I think he deserved to be listened to." - Frank Robinson

"That's as dominating as I've seen a pitcher pitch (20k game on September 18, 1996) . I've had Randy Johnson with a fastball and slider be dominant, but Roger was throwing a two-seam fastball, a four-seam fastball, a forkball and slider. He threw four pitches and moved the ball around." - Tim McClelland

"The no-hitters I've been involved with and have seen, there's been luck involved. This (20k game on September 18, 1996) was just a dominating performance. I think that was the best pitching performance I've ever seen. I don't want to take anything away from those guys (who pitched no-hitters) because that's a great achievement, but this is as good as it gets. I can't imagine anyone having better stuff than that. He was just absolutely outstanding tonight. He would've done that to a lot of teams tonight." - Buddy Bell

"You must never interrupt the pitcher's focus by talking to him before a start, even if he's just reading the latest issue of Hustler or watching the early edition of SportsCenter. Instead, avoid any contact with him, regarding him with the same caution you would a psycho killer,a disgruntled postal worker, or Roger Clemens." - Jim Caple

"What really catches your eye is how small he (Pedro Martinez) is. You go up against Roger Clemens, even if you've never seen him before, and you say, 'This guy looks overpowering.' You wouldn't say that about Pedro Martinez." - Mark Lemke

"When he (Roger Clemens) threw the bat(during Game 2 of the 2000 World Series), I basically walked out and kept asking him what his problem was. He really had no response. I was trying to figure out whether it was intentional or not. I was going to ask him. If it was, then obviously he really no had response. I was more shocked and confused than anything." - Mike Piazza