Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
As I travel the country for away games, I meet kids fighting cancer in almost every city. They visit the ballpark, and I invite them onto the field so we can chat and then watch the game.
One thing I know in baseball is you should never be comfortable where you are. It doesn't matter who you are. It's a business. If I got traded tomorrow, no hard feelings; it's a business.
I've matured a lot as a pitcher. I understand what my strengths are. I've learned that I've got a great sinker, I get a lot of ground balls, and it's easy to get a ground-ball double play.
Baseball was my refuge. When I came on the field, I did my job, and did the best I could and focused on that. Then I went home and I was miserable. That was pretty much my routine every day.?
It's been like that all spring. It's just that balls decided to hang up there. It's hard to catch it when you can't see it. But that's how it's going to be in Oakland in the afternoon anyway.
It's not like I'm some kind of veteran and there is this huge age gap. I identify with them more off the field. I need to set an example, which is great, and I look forward to doing just that.
In Cuba, I would start the first two months hitting around .260 with three or four home runs. After the first half of the season, I would get hot, and that's when I would have my best results.
Anytime you can see a hitter and face a hitter, you gain knowledge, and you gain that experience. Whether they hit a homerun off you, or you strike them out or whatever it is, it's information.
I've never used performance-enhancing drugs of any kind, and I never will. I've never met or spoken with Tony Bosch or used any substances provided by him. Anything said to the contrary is a lie.
Being young and being first-round picks and everything, people look up to you and look for you to lead. It's something Brett and I are able to do, and we can use each other to help each other out.
I had some tough times. Now that I look back on it, I'm very grateful for those times. I know now that I needed them. But at the time you think, 'Man, I wish I could just get to the major leagues!'
I didn't like The Astrodome or any of the Astro-Turf fields. Probably my worst ballpark was The Met in Minnesota; I hated that place. I was so glad when they tore that place down, you have no idea.
I take my vote as a salute to the little guy, the one who doesn't hit 500 home runs. I was one of the guys that did all they could to win. I'm proud of my stats, but I don't think I ever got on for.
Fear does its best work in isolation. Courage wears the face of your ability to love and be loved. Breakthrough happens when you discover your self-worth had nothing to do with what you looked like.
I think I just learned that God has a plan for all of us, and I work hard and do all the things I can, but at the same time, His will is perfect; and me trying to control it, it's not going to work.
The Oakland A's, I loved all my teammates there. I loved all the coaches. They gave me the opportunity to play in the big leagues. And for that, I thank them. I mean it was a dream come true for me.
I can relate to anyone. I can hang out with stoners, skaters, surfers, stockbrokers, lawyers, athletes, rappers. I feel I can hang out with any group of people and find common ground to talk with them.
I try to work hard. I try to set a good example. I don't look at it as though I've got to be a leader. I just try to behave the way I think I should behave. If that results in a leadership role, great.
The Red Sox believe what's written. If it's written that I should be traded, more times than not, that's what ends up happening. Look at the people who've gotten traded around here. It's not their doing.
A good base stealer should make the whole infield jumpy. Whether you steal or not, you're changing the rhythm of the game. If the pitcher is concerned about you, he isn't concentrating enough on the batter.
I can't imagine not having a dog as a companion. They know when it's play time or walking time and they know when it is working time and they are content to catch up on their sleep knowing you are close by.
The adhesion of Coca-Cola is an affirmation of the expansion of the Global Pact and the importance it assumes worldwide, especially on the US market where more and more enterprises have decided to get involved.
I don't like the idea of 'I've played nine years, I've made some All-Star teams, I make the most money. I've got to be a leader.' That doesn't make you a leader. Treating people the right way is more important.
I've worked hard with my body, just in case someone needs me to play third or short. I'm happy to go back to short, it's my natural position. I'm here to help and here to do whatever the manager wants me to do.
I've always had a connection here in the city from the first day I arrived. I stayed in the city. I made San Francisco my home. I was seen in the offseason at a lot of different functions, and people liked that.
It's almost embarrassing to be out in public and someone comes up to you and says, 'My mother had the same thing you did.' What do you say? I don't know what to say to make them feel better about their situation.
I hope baseball doesn't get to the point where everyone's saying, 'He takes it [steroids]. He takes it. He takes it!' because not all of us do. I've been big my whole life, and I'll always be big. That's all natural.
You have to figure that there is something seriously wrong with somebody who wants to enter a profession that deals with whether people are screwing enough. Dealing with spirits, spooks, and demons almost seemed normal.
Baseball in Canada is like soccer in the U.S. It is growing, and some people are starting to gain interest. The way that there are Americans playing high-level soccer, there are Canadians breaking into the Major Leagues.
Of course I think a 10-year investment would be in a team's best interest. Look at Cal Ripken Jr., that guy was around until he was like 40... Not that I'm going to be in my 40s at the end of the 10-year deal or anything.
When it was over, I was so happy, I felt like crying. I wanted to win this one for Casey. After what I did in Brooklyn, he could have forgotten about me and who would blame him? But he gave me another chance and I'm grateful.
We should have apologized back then and made sure we had a rule in place and gone forward. ... Steroids and all of that was a part of history. But it was a topic that everybody wanted to avoid. Nobody wanted to talk about it.
My curveball is a blessing. My father taught it to me. He felt that it was a pitch he wanted me to learn, right on the side of the house, and it just ended up working. I never asked what the tricks were, or anything like that.
There's only certain things you can control. I know how hard I work, I know how I take care of myself, and those are the two things I can control. As far as injuries and wear and tear and stuff like that, it's going to happen.
You never know when you're going to throw a no-hitter or if you're ever going to get the chance to do it. It's one of those deals where the ninth inning comes around; it's either going to be your night or just a complete game.
Sure, it's nice to win. But there's only one thing that's important to me and that's the money we're going to get, win or lose. . . . I don't love baseball, I like it. And to me, baseball means money, and that's all I care about.
Despite the situation in Cuba, I had a chance to play on the national team; and compared to other baseball players and other people in Cuba, I had the opportunity to live at a level that was not very high class but in the middle.
I think in the bullpen you can tell during your warmups, if you have a good feel for it. But anything can happen once you get into a game. Sometimes you just wind up throwing it better than ever before one day without knowing why.
There's a part of me that wants to go streak and run outside and jump around and go swim in the ocean and do everything. The other part of me wants to bear down and repeat this kind of performance next year and in the years to come.
I'm not a guy that sets a number of goals. If I can go out and continue to have a consistent approach every day and get to where I feel comfortable enough. Then I go into a game, relax and play, the numbers will take care of themselves.
No matter what you do in the offseason, you can't simulate putting spikes on and standing in the grass and being around your teammates. When you're around your teammates, you step it up a notch. It's just kind of instinctive you do that.
We've always been suburb people, and we lived in the East Bay when I was in Oakland. This time around, we're staying in the city, and my kids are getting that city life experience, which is something you don't get too much of in Alabama.
I don't know anybody else who lives 1,000 miles away from their job and gets to commute back and forth. The owner said, 'You can live in your beloved Swifton, but don't you dare miss a game.' I had a few close calls, but I didn't miss any.
I enjoyed hitting in the Major Leagues more than in the Minor Leagues. I didn't want to tell anybody it was easier, because I didn't want to sound cocky. But Major League pitchers had better control, and most of them were around the plate.
My life has changed in many ways, both on an economic and personal level. All major league players are accorded the respect they deserve. In Cuba, it was not that way. National team players were not respected. The treatment was not adequate.
AT&T Park, chalk it up. This is a great pitcher's park, great weather. It's a great place to pitch. It's all positive and no negative. You can go out and challenge guys. I've got the confidence to attack the strike zone and not nibble so much.
An idiot will do anything, no matter how stupid, because he is afraid of what everybody will think of him if he does nothing. A genius, on the other hand, is content to do nothing, no matter what people think, if he can’t find anything worth doing.
I figured my wife was about to start law school. If that whole baseball pitching thing didn't work out, I had something to fall back on. I figure I'd put a ring on her finger. Turns out she was the smart one. Turns out she was the gold digger, not me.
My first and foremost goal when I joined the Yankees was to win the world championship. Certainly it's been a long road and very difficult journey. But I'm just happy that after all these years we were able to win and reach the goal that I had come here for.
Braves fans are one-of-a-kind. Your passion to win comes close to equaling that of the players that go out on the field each and every game. But when the team goes through rough patches, you're there to encourage and cheer and believe that things will turn around.