Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
No one hit home runs the way Babe did. They were something special. They were like homing pigeons. The ball would leave the bat, pause briefly, suddenly gain its bearings, then take off for the stands.
I can't play any more. I can't hit the ball when I need to. I can't steal second when I need to. I can't go from first to third when I need to. I can't score from second when I need to. I have to quit.
Stadiums fill up with people to see what's going to happen between the lines. But life isn't only about visible realities. There are invisible and unseen nuances...things that shape us into who we are.
Practice the game the way you're going to play the game. Practice hard and play hard. Run hard and above all else, hustle every moment you're on the field where you are practicing or playing in a game.
I definitely don't want to run any 5K races anytime soon. I can work out pretty hard as far as intensity. But as far as playing basketball or anything high impact, it's probably not smart for me to do.
People always ask me why I still want to play, but I want to know why no one will give me an opportunity. It's like they put a stamp on me: 'Hall of Fame. You're done. That's it.' It's a goddamn shame.
I've always been a guy who comes in not being guaranteed a spot and always fighting for a spot. Any time you're in a camp, and you're not a big money guy, you're always going to be competing for a job.
What you end up doing is you try to match your guy's strength against a place they can be successful. They're doing the same thing against us. Sometimes they have the edge, sometimes you have the edge.
When I played ball, I didn't play for fun. . . . It's no pink tea, and mollycoddles had better stay out. It's a contest and everything that implies, a struggle for supremacy, a survival of the fittest.
I could play for the worst team if they paid the most... If the last-place team offers $200 million and the first-place team offers $10, I'm going to go for the $200-million no matter what team it was.
It's a very big mental game, all day leading up to warm-ups. You're not sure if your curveball will break, or will you be able to throw it over the plate? It's all negative thoughts going into the game.
Preparation is very important. The pitcher is going to do his job and prepare for you so you as a hitter must do the same. I always watch videotape of pitchers before the game and even sometimes during.
It doesn't matter the numbers, it doesn't matter the records, it doesn't matter the money that you make. What matters is to raise that trophy and to be able to bring that smile to the city of St. Louis.
My agent called me and said, 'You're going to be on the cover of 'R.B.I. Baseball.'' I was like, 'Are you serious?' It's unbelievable. Dream come true. I was yelling into the phone. I was super excited.
The Internet has kind of allowed me to go to a virtual library whenever I want to find out something about something and not use one source but find multiple ways to research certain topics or subjects.
And so we go over the cliff fiscally, and our Republican friends try to pin the blame on discretionary domestic spending, including spending for security. We pass budget resolutions that fall far short.
I don't care how much money he (Frank Viola) makes. He can have my locker, I'll take him to all the best restaurants and show him New York. He can even have my wife, but he can't have my number, no way.
We're proud of Venezuela and Venezuelan baseball. People in America don't realize it, but we've got 25, 30 million people here, and so many of us love baseball. This is a great place to look for talent.
There is only one Mariano Rivera. There won't be another person who will come along and do what he did. No one does it like him. It was an honor to catch him and play alongside him for as long as I did.
Most of the teams who traded for me or signed me needed me to fill a hole in the puzzle. I feel good about that. You've got to roll with it, live your life day-by-day. Tomorrow's not promised to anyone.
I like you a lot and because I like you, I keep following you. To be honest, I can't hear either. No, I can hear, but I only wanted to hear what I want. That you liked me, that you wanted to be with me.
Our sister Alma was the best hitter in the family. We used to soak corn cobs in water so they wouldn't fly so far when we hit 'em. Alma was the first to hit one far enough to break a window in the barn.
I know when I get to 0-2, 1-2, when I'm ahead in the count, that I hold a distinct advantage over every single hitter. I have so many options because I don't have to work within the strike zone anymore.
I had a long conversation with Steve Carlton. He told me that on the days he pitched, he felt it was his responsibility to make everyone around him better, to lift his teammates. Thats what I try to do.
I'm a Cub fan, and I sit up here and I know when we have a good team, I know when we're struggling, and it affects me just like any other fan, and I just happen to show it on the radio. I can't help it.
There is nothing wrong with [pitching by committee] in mid-week [games]. It creates unique problems for hitters. I think it creates more problems for good-hitting teams than it does for the other teams.
I don't want people following me around, everywhere I go, people talking to me and stuff. I don't want to be walking down the street with a bodyguard. I don't think that will be an issue playing in L.A.
Some people are saying it's a slap in the face for me to go to a competitor, but it also was a slap in my face that they would go out and trade for Matt Williams, especially when my situation was unsure.
Preparation is very important. The pitcher is going to do his job and prepare for you, so you as a hitter must do the same. I always watch videotape of pitchers before the game and even sometimes during.
I'd like to be remembered. I'd like to think that someday two guys will be talking in a bar and one of them will say something like, 'Yeah, he's a good shortstop, but he's not as good as ole Ripken was.'
My dad was part of the Oriole way. I think he was there 14 years in the minor leagues; I think seven of those years, they had the same people in place. So it was about continuity. It was about stability.
This is a good group of young guys that's eager to play. When I was coming up with the (Minnesota) Twins, they called us a Triple-A team. But then we made the playoffs. That's the direction we're headed.
I played on teams with 24 guys pulling the rope one way and one guy pulling the other. I've seen how destructive it can be. I tell them, 'If 13 of you are insanely successful and one fails, we all lose.'
My problem was my inability to spend much time at home. I thought my family was secure, so I went running around everyplace else. I guess I had more of an effect on other people's kids than I did my own.
The passion is my favorite part of the city [Philadelphia]. You go from 'we love you' to 'we hate you' back to 'you walk on water.' You're driving, and somebody might wave or somebody might flip you off.
When you have five or six potential hall of famers on your team ... that's when you win penants and championships. The only thing you have to be concerned about is getting the ballplayers to bed on time.
Yeah, I'm going to go back (after hitting his 500th home run, but commenting on reaching the 3,000 hit plateau) to my Punch-and-Judy days, hit the ball the other way, start bunting the ball a little bit.
I had a long conversation with Steve Carlton. He told me that on the days he pitched, he felt it was his responsibility to make everyone around him better, to lift his teammates. That's what I try to do.
The farther away you writers stay, the better I like it. You know why? Because you're trying to create a bad image of me... you do it because I'm black and Puerto Rican, but I'm proud to be Puerto Rican.
Mark (McGwire), you know I love you. It's been unbelievable. I wish you could be here with me today. I know you are watching me and I know you have the same feelings for me as I have for you in my heart.
Sitting peacefully on a cushion day and night seeking to attain Buddhahood, rejecting life and death in hopes of realizing enlightenment, is all like a monkey grasping at the moon reflected in the water.
We are fortunate and blessed to have a partner of Harvey Schiller's stature, who shares our vision for the future of the Dodgers, the city of Los Angeles and our great baseball fans throughout the world.
Take a look at all of them: Marichal, Jenkins, Spahn - what do you think made them successful? They conditioned their arms by pitching more, not less, starting from when they signed their first contract.
I met with Martha and Sharon to see if there are any opportunities in syndication. My vision says her customers and fans are still loyal to her. I don't think the Martha Stewart brand loyalty has changed.
When you think about it, there is really a fine line between being a proctologist and just being a perverted ass-freak. And according to the judge who sentenced me, that line is called a 'medical degree'.
I'm really not comfortable doing interviews in a group, in press conferences. One-on-one, I'm all right, but those press conferences at the All-Star Game, I just don't... I feel better when I'm by myself.
Casey didn't easily forgive a guy who got doubled up on a hit-and-run play. He didn't see any reason why the runner couldn't take a quick glance back toward the plate to make sure the ball was hit safely.
You have to know what you're doing and where you're going. For some guys, the answer is just keep doing what you're doing. For other guys, that might not be the case. It just depends on what kind you are.
I haven't missed a game in two-and-a-half years. I go to the park as sick as a dog and, when I see my uniform hanging there, I get well right now. Then I see some of you guys (media) and I get sick again.
Every hitter likes fastballs, just like everybody likes ice cream. But you don't like it when someone's stuffing it into you by the gallon. That's what it feels like when Nolan Ryan's thrown balls by you.