Pat Gillick Quotes

A lot of young players don't really know much about the history of the game and a lot of them are missing out on what the game is all about, especially the whole concept of sportsmanship and teamwork.

There's nothing like Opening Day. There's nothing like the start of a new season. I started playing baseball when I was seven years old and quit playing when I was 40, so it's kind of in my blood.

For many of us, sport has provided the continuity in our lives, the alternative family to the one we left behind. It gives us something to talk about, to preen about, to care about.

I've got to stand up for the sport.

I was an old tackle riding around talking to people about sports. Like I've said to a lot of people over the years, 'I only go where old tackles go, and if an old tackle does not belong there, I'm not going.'

I've got a lot of respect for Norwich City as a football club, there's some really good people there.

The All-Star Game represents everything we as a nation love about basketball on and off the court - diversity, sportsmanship and, most of all, a commitment to unite fans.

I know how much of a uniting game cricket is and as a leader of the Birmingham Phoenix that is something I definitely want to promote.

That's one of the good things about cricket, the friendships around the game.

It's always hard to find the best friends in the locker room because we are all competing against each other - but the real friends you are going to definitely find off the court because we are competitors in between.

You never had the opportunity to play with some of the great ballplayers, but being that close around them, and being in the same category, was a great feeling, to feel that vibe of all the best players who played the game.

We fought like heck for every player and every advantage, but we knew we were part of something bigger than ourselves. To me, that is what baseball is all about. I hope it is always what baseball is all about.

Only in baseball can a team player be a pure individualist first and a team player second, within the rules and spirit of the game.

In baseball, democracy shines its clearest. The only race that matters is the race to the bag. The creed is the rule book. And color, merely something to distinguish one team's uniform from another's.

I love the fans, I love the game of baseball, and I love Cincinnati baseball.

When I played, I never needed the spotlight, nor did I want it. I simply wanted to play baseball and be respected by my teammates and the opposing players.

There's nothing bad that accrues from baseball.

For me, baseball is about, again, the team winning.

Then in a fraction of a second, I realized that these sportsmen were not anyone's enemies.

It doesn't matter what the scoreboard says. I'm always having fun, talking to other guys. They even come to first base and ask me about hitting. I try to help them out as much as I can in the 30 seconds before the pitcher throws the next pitch. That's me. I don't think I will ever change that.

I always appreciated the ex-players. Being a Yankee, you get spoiled. Old-Timers Day, all these guys coming back, spring training, being around them, you get a chance to get to know them. So I always think you learn a lot by listening.

I have great memories of being a Cub, and I'm happy building new ones with the Phillies.

I'll tell you what's helped me my entire life. I look at baseball as a game. It's something where people can go out, enjoy and have fun. Nothing more.

We're sympathetic, but once you step on the field, football's football.

Baseball is an individual game, but it should never be a personal game.