Quotes from Frank Robinson

I wanted to show Baltimore that they were getting a good ballplayer.

As a black, you find you have to be two or three times better than a white even to play. And when it comes to front-office jobs, management believes you'll never be as good.

No. 1, these guys out here on this field. They keep my energy level up. They try hard, they don't complain about things - and I'd just like to be with them when things are good, and hopefully we can win a pennant together.

The way we're going... if I called up another pitcher, he'd just hang up the phone on me.

I haven't seen a player in this game, as long as I've been in it, that can't be pitched to... Barry is an outstanding ballplayer. I respect him an awful lot. I also have confidence in my pitchers that they can pitch to Barry Bonds and get him out.

No, I don't think my presence will cause an increase in black attendance at Cleveland.

It's nice to come into a town and be referred to as the manager of the Cleveland Indians instead of as the first black manager.

I always tried to do the best. I knew I couldn't always be the best, but I tried to be.

If the guys on the bench were as good as the guys you have out there, they'd be out there in first place.

Managers don't have as much leverage as they used to have. We can't really be the boss.

The fan is the one who suffers. He cheers a guy to a .350 season then watches that player sign with another team. When you destroy fan loyalties, you destroy everything.

But I'm not going to walk Barry Bonds, like some teams do, in the first inning with nobody on.

Al Campanis made people finally understand what goes on behind closed doors - that there is racism in baseball.

I've never seen baseball advertise for a job, and I've never heard of whites applying for a job. I mean, there's an old boy network, and it's lily white.

I know a lot of people on the field - players, coaches, managers - are glad that I'm gone.

During the years I was still playing, I would go to Puerto Rico in the winter and manage. When the day came, I had the experience without having to go to the minor leagues for four or five years and then wait for an opportunity. Still, there's a double standard. Some whites, like Pete Rose, Joe Torre and Ted Williams, never had to go to the minors.

Pitchers did me a favor when they knocked me down. It made me more determined. I wouldn't let that pitcher get me out. They say you can't hit if you're on your back, but I didn't hit on my back. I got up.

At least when it's in French, I won't know what the heck they're saying.

It was a breaking period for black people coming into baseball, and how many followed depended on Jackie's conduct. But that's not the case now. What and how I do doesn't mean nearly as much as what and how Jackie did.

I haven't seen a player in this game, as long as I've been in it, that can't be pitched to... Barry is an outstanding ballplayer. I respect him an awful lot. I also have confidence in my pitchers that they can pitch to Barry Bonds and get him out.

You have to have a short memory as a closer.

People come out to see the players. When do you see a manager anyway? When he's out on the field arguing with the umpires, making a fool of himself and you know you can't win, and when he brings out the line-up card.

Whether you're trying to excel in athletics or in any other field, always practice. Look, listen, learn - and practice, practice, practice. There is no substitute for work, no shortcut to the top.

All in all, I wouldn't call it a bad outing. It was a short outing.