Quotes About Baseball

It's tough to strike out. Believe me. I hate striking out. It's no fun. It's embarrassing. But there really isn't anything I can do. It's just a part of my game.

David Price comes and finds me out in the lobby and says, 'Dude, I really enjoy watching you pitch.' I'm just like, 'What's wrong with you? Watch your own games, bro. I just throw fastballs inside. You're painting all over the place, striking the world out.'

I lay a lot of blame at the feet of Dusty Baker for not being more strict about fundamentals, which I think would give the team a stronger day-to-day identity.

It was not long before I was struck with the idea that base ball was just the game for a national sport for Americans.

In Little League back in Oklahoma, I struck out 14 batters in a six-inning game, and we won the state championship.

What's going on in the game today... it's data vs. art - that's what it comes down to for me. Art being the human heartbeat, data being numbers, the math, etc. I believe there's a balance to be struck right there.

There were so many things in Baltimore not many people know about. I had struggles with my pitching coach. A lot of guys did.

We're baseball players, right? We make great money. Regardless if we don't make the money we want, we're still making great money. A lot of people in this world are struggling a lot harder than us.

I'm a Baltimore guy. I've always loved Baltimore and always will love Baltimore, but baseball is baseball, and when you're playing on the opposing team, you're going to get booed.

Everybody believed you had to have a big piece of lumber and then muscle the ball over the fence. But by the time I and Hank Aaron - another guy who did it with his wrists - were through, there were a lot of guys ordering light bats and playing handball.

The fact I'm blind has been a great help to my career. If I'd been sighted I'd have played baseball and got into trouble like all other kids on my block.

If overconfidence can cause the Roman Empire to fall, I ought to be able to get a ground ball.

Making the Hall of Fame, would it be something that's gratifying because of what I've sacrificed? Sure. Baseball has been a big part of our lives. We've sacrificed our bodies. It's the way we made our living.

For as long as I can remember, our family has been huge Cardinals fans. My grandpa is a personal friend of Whitey Herzog's; they were neighbors for decades. Our love and support of the Cardinals definitely runs deep.

For me, there was nothing like my time with the Eagles - ever. We were young, and the world was new to us. It was the happiest time of our lives. They wouldn't let us play in their big leagues, but we had this game of ours... this marvelous, blessed game... and we just went out and played it.

I think we're in a new era of baseball where it's not OK to have a lumbering slugger in the corner of the outfield not catching the ball, and not taking the extra base.

I was seven years old when my dad first showed me how to cut the grass. It was a big job for a kid my age. We had a pretty decent-sized backyard. It was on a hill - tough to mow. But I cut it so good. I double-cut it. I cut it at an angle, then cut across it at another angle, like a checkerboard. The way I'd seen in the outfield at baseball games.

I remember daydreaming out in the outfield: I wish I had more time. I want to read 'The Brothers Karamazov.'

I pitched and I played the outfield.

My dad had me in little baseball outfits and bats in the crib.

For me, baseball is the most nourishing game outside of literature. They both are re-tellings of human experience.

I am not tired of being baseball's designated 'outspoken guy.' It's just me being me.

My father never saw me play ball, and I was an outstanding ballplayer. I missed all that adoration.

There are certainly times when baseball is much more than bread and circus, times when baseball resonates deeply and meaningfully with many, many people, and times when a game that is built around overcoming failure can teach us all a few important lessons.