Quotes from Dave Martinez

I like to hit with men in scoring position.

Let them know that we care, even when they have a bad game and not a good game, let them know that we always care about them. You'll get the most out of every player.

When you go up there in the batter's box, you're engaged to hit. It's the same thing with baserunning.

I don't care what a guy can't do. Tell me what a guy can do and let's make the best of that. If we can do that, all the perceived things he can't do seem to go away.

Early in my career when I was with Montreal, we had a lot of good outfielders like Otis Nixon, myself, Marquis Grissom and Larry Walker. We all did the platooning thing, although each one of us could have played every day. We got everybody in the lineup, and everybody got to play.

I've done everything I could as a bench coach. I'm ready to manage.

I can play with pain. It doesn't bother me.

I've had many managers, and learned a lot from them, the good ones always stayed even-keeled, never rode the waves.

Often, bumpy roads lead to beautiful places.

I realized that I still had a lot to offer the game. My knowledge could maybe help younger guys. I enjoyed being around the clubhouse, on the field.

When things go bad, the best thing to do is keep working and keep coaching.

It's all about communication, culture and competing every day.

I love conversations, about anything.

You have to take care of the seconds. The minutes, the hours, and the days will take care of themselves.

My job is to be the bench coach with the Rays and help this team succeed. If another opportunity arises, I'd welcome the opportunity.

Through process and preparation and going through all of the interviews, I've learned a lot about myself and my skills.

Every year that I have under my belt, I'm a lot more confident and a lot more prepared for the challenges of being a manager.

In my first press conference I said, 'I'm here to win.' If you don't think that way, or any player thinks that way, why are you playing the game?

I had some pretty good teachers. I learned how to play the game the right way.

At 21, I'm too young to be considered just a defensive outfielder.

I've seen teammates who wanted to choke each other.

When you feel like you're going to have a low-scoring game, why not have one of your better hitters have a chance? All of a sudden you're in the ninth inning and you have one of your best hitters on deck that doesn't get up. I always think about that.

It wasn't until Joe Maddon called me in 2006 when I thought about pursuing a coaching career.

In my career, I finished in second place six times. I played on teams that were in it to the very end. It's frustrating.