For many people, it just isn't spring until the first batter steps up to the plate on Opening Day. For those folks, spring arrives this year on April 3.

Baseball is a pastime that spawns deep passion and loyalty. Some fans love it for the statistics, some for the lively crowds and others for the edge-of-your-seat plays. In fact, the sport is so popular that, in the U.S., ballpark attendance figures clobber those of all other professional sports. Last year, fans bought a total of 73 million tickets to Major League games.

Here are some great baseball quotes to help you get ready for the season. Let's play ball!

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"I have a zone, and if you hit it, I'll hit it... I was born to hit a baseball."

-- Barry Bonds

"I had only one superstition. I made sure to touch all the bases when I hit a home run."

-- Babe Ruth

"All I ever wanted to be was a Yankee. When I was a kid I was always hoping there'd be a jersey left for me to wear with a single digit."

-- Derek Jeter

"If you slid into bases head first for 20 years, you'd be ugly, too."

-- Pete Rose

"Slump? I ain't in no slump... I just ain't hitting."

-- Yogi Berra

"How can you not have fun going around the country playing baseball for a living? Being a baseball player is the next best thing to being a rock star."

-- Jason Giambi

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

-- Roger Clemens

"The pitcher only had a ball, I had a bat."

-- Hank Aaron

"I mean, it's unheard of for somebody to hit 70 home runs. I'm slightly in awe of myself."

-- Mark McGwire

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring."

-- Roger Hornsby