Gerrit Cole Quotes

When he hit a ground ball to you, you knew you had to make a good throw because he was going to be running.

The shortstop is a perfectly conditioned athlete. You're running out on relays all the time. You're covering second base. On every pitch, you're moving.

They throw the ball, I hit it. They hit the ball, I catch it.

If I had to name the number one asset you could have for any sport I'd say speed. In baseball, all a guy with speed has to do is make contact.

Playing shortstop is 75 to 80 percent anticipation, knowing the hitter and the pitch being thrown.

I always liked the defensive part of baseball.

I still feel like I can play defense at first base at a very high level.

Our fielders have to catch a lot of balls, or at least deflect them to someone who can.

Defense to me is the key to playing baseball.

In high school, I didn't have to talk. All I had to say is 'left' or 'right' when a screen was coming.

When you're playing first base, you help the infielders a lot. They appreciate you when you pick their ball. It's fun to help that.

I'm really bad at baseball.

I'm beginning to see Brooks [Robinson] in my sleep. If I dropped a paper plate, he'd pick it up on one hop and throw me out at first.

I loved running. I can catch everything in the outfield. I could throw people out from the fence.

In the NBA, you can't run from guys. I think a lot of teams were surprised by my interviews, how nice and well-spoken I am as a player and as a person. I'm a guy who wants to learn.

If you can do that - if you run, hit, run the bases, hit with power, field, throw and do all other things that are part of the game - then you're a good ballplayer.

Pitching is 80% of the game and the other half is hitting and fielding.

The last couple of practices, all we've been doing is a lot of defensive things. We've been going over some drills that make all of us have to communicate.

I've been fortunate to be short my entire life. There's only one position I've ever had to play, and that's point guard. So I've always had to be that leader. And that was my job: you know, to talk.

I used to lead off when I was a rookie. I've always been able to bunt.

The outfield is solid, so is the catching and the infield.

I don't like American football. I think it's boring and ridiculous and predictable. But baseball is very beautiful. It's played on a diamond.

Pop flies, in a sense, are just a diversion for a second baseman. Grounders are his stock trade.

For me, fielding is everything - it is a passion that comes from within. You can get a bad ball while you bat, and your bowling may not always be up there, but you are completely in control of how well you field.

One day, the infielders were having a pretty bad time and were making some bad throws to me at first base. After digging a few out of the dirt, Joe Orengo called over to me, 'Atta boy, John, you look like a big cat.' Some of the writers overheard the remark and asked Joe about it later. The nickname has stuck with me ever since.