Sparky Anderson Quotes

Sparky Anderson delivers blunt, humorous takes on baseball and management that feel like a coach's pep talk.

42 quotes

1. If a team is in a positive frame of mind, it will have a good attitude. If it has a good attitude, it will make a commitment to playing the game right. If it plays the game right, it will win-unless, of course, it doesn't have enough talent to win, and no manager can make goose-liver pate out of goose feathers, so why worry?

2. 'Baseball is a simple game. If you have good players and if you keep them in the right frame of mind then the manager is a success.'

3. 'He's (Jose Canseco) built like a Greek goddess.'

4. 'I can't believe they pay us to play baseball - something we did for free as kids.'

5. 'I don't know why the players make such a big fuss about sitting in the first class section of the plane. Does that mean they'll get there faster?'

6. 'If I ever find a pitcher who has heat, a good curve, and a slider, I might seriously consider marrying him, or at least proposing.'

7. 'If I hear Bowie Kuhn say just once more he's doing something for the betterment of baseball, I'm going to throw-up.'

8. 'I only had a high school education and believe me, I had to cheat to get that.'

9. 'Me carrying a briefcase is like a hotdog wearing earrings.'

10. 'People who live in the past generally are afraid to compete in the present. I've got my faults, but living in the past is not one of them. There's no future in it.'

11. 'Players have two things to do. Play and keep their mouths shut.'

12. 'Problem with (John) Wockenfuss getting on base is that it takes three doubles to score him.'

13. 'The only reason I'm coming out here tomorrow is the schedule says I have to.'

14. 'You give us the pitching some of these clubs have and no one could touch us, but God has a way of not arranging that, because it's not as much fun.'

15. He's (Willie Stargell) such a big strong guy he should love that porch. He's got power enough to hit home runs in any park, including Yellowstone.

16. The day I got a hit off (Sandy) Koufax was when he knew it was all over.

17. They say the first World Series is the one you remember most. No, no no. I guarantee you don't remember that one because the fantasy world you always dreamed about is suddenly real.

18. Managing is not running, hitting, or stealing. Managing is getting your players to put out one hundred percent year after year.

19. I don't believe a manager ever won a pennant. Casey Stengel won all those pennants with the Yankees. How many did he win with the Boston Braves and Mets?

20. You're gonna lose some ball games and you're gonna win some ball games and that's about it.

21. This game has taken a lot of guys over the years who would have had to work in factories and gas stations and made them prominent people. I only had a high school education, and believe me, I had to cheat to get that. There isn't a college in the world that would have me and yet in this business you can walk into a room with millionaires, doctors, professional people and get more attention than they get. I don't know any other business where you can do that.

22. Just give me 25 guys on the last year of their contracts; I'll win a pennant every year.

23. My idea of managing is giving the ball to Tom Seaver and sitting down and watching him work.

24. The only thing I believe is this: A player does not have to like a manager and he does not have to respect a manager. All he has to do is obey the rules.

25. Good seasons start with good beginnings.

26. A player does not have to like a manager and he does not have to respect a manager. All he has to do is obey the rules.

27. A baseball manager is a necessary evil.

28. Casey (Stengel) knew his baseball. He only made it look like he was fooling around. He knew every move that was ever invented and some that we haven't even caught on to yet.

29. Every 24 hours the world turns over on someone who was sitting on top of it.

30. Baseball is a simple game. If you have good players, and you keep them in the right frame of mind, the manager is a success. The players make the manager. It's never the other way. Managing is not running, hitting, or stealing. Managing is getting your players to put out one hundred percent year after year. A player does not have to like a manager and he does not have to respect a manager. All he has to do is obey the rules. Talent is one thing. Being able to go from spring to October is another. You just got caught in a position where you have no position.

31. I understand people who boo us. It's like going to Broadway show, you pay for your tickets and expect to be entertained. When you're not, you have a right to complain.

32. Our pitching could be better than I think it will be.

33. I've changed my mind about it (DH) - instead of being bad, it stinks.

34. You can be whoever you want to be, you just have to want it bad enough.

35. Explaining why he was forced to cut a utility player: You just got caught in a position where you have no position.

36. Success is the person who year after year reaches the highest limits in his field.

37. Success isn't something that just happens - success is learned, success is practiced and then it is shared.

38. Pete (Rose) doesn't run with celebrities and he can't stand the phonies. His big buddy in LA ain't Sinatra, it's a funny old groundskeeper.

39. Am I a great manager? Huh. I was blessed to have a front office that found great talent, and then I was smart enough to stay the hell out of their way.

40. If you have to choose between power and speed and it often turns out you have to make that choice, you've got to go for speed.

41. It's a terrible thing to have to tell your fans, who have waited like Detroit's have, that their team won't win it this year. But it's better than lying to them.

42. We're the best team in baseball, but not by much.