Mike Fitzpatrick Quotes

I'm never going to criticize any umpires or anything, because they're a big part of the game.

The way I see it, an umpire must be perfect on the first day of the season and then get better every day.

The best umpired game is the game in which the fans cannot recall the umpires who worked it.

When I was 14, I played in a summer league. One night the chief umpire asked me if I would like to try umpiring. There was a Little League tournament coming up and he needed more umpires than he had.

The interesting thing is that it seems like George W. Bush would have been happy being the president of anything. He could have been president of Major League Baseball. Less people killed. It wouldn't have affected the world on a planetary level. Sure, there would have been little things. There would have been scandals and kind of numbskull things here and there .

Ed (Runge), you're the second best umpire in the league. The other twenty-three are tied for first.

I think umpires have too much power, without any system of checks and balances and the more money a player makes, the more the umpire tries to show off that power to him. Unfortunately, since I signed my contract my strike zone has suddenly become a lot larger.

When managers have got decisions to make, whether it benefits me or not, I have to be man enough to take it.

I'd get me a bunch of bats and balls and sneak me a couple of umpires and learn them kids behind the Iron Curtain how to tote a bat and play baseball.

Bert Blyleven certainly was a starting pitcher that had tremendous success in the big leagues. Jimmy Rice, this guy if you had to face him, I tell you what he'd get your attention cause he was a great... great player. I think those guys deserve some recognition, but it didn't happen for them. For whatever reason, I really can't answer that.

I guess that's what Little League is all about -- trying.

After I got that hit off Satchel (Paige), I knew I was ready for the big leagues.

I couldn't see well enough to play (baseball) when I was a boy, so they gave me a special job - they made me an umpire.

Why would you want to stay manager and be second-guessed by me when you can come up into the front-office and be one of the second-guessers?

If I could even do that [playing] in a softball league, I would never miss anything about baseball.

A lot of people think Major League’s called Wild Thing. As they should.

If you get fooled by a pitch with less than two strikes, take it.

The minor leagues were great. When you first sign, that is your big leagues.

Baseball in the Navy always was much more fun than it had been in the major leagues.

The way we have been playing, I might tell my players not to cross the picket line (umpire strike of 1979).

I guess I was maybe in little league baseball as far as I wanted to be good at that. But school, I certainly wasn't the best at that. But comedy thing and making movies and stuff, I love it so much that I do get driven to push myself as hard as I can.

If U.S. Grant had been leading a team of baseball players, they'd have second guessed him all the way to the doorknob of the Appomattox Courthouse.

To swing or not to swing? Swing.

I led the league in go get 'em next time.

Cardinal rule for all hitters with two strikes on them: Never trust the umpire.