Ted Lyons Quotes

My first and only experience in baseball, the coach signed me up; he didn't tell me there's a thing called the curveball. I didn't know that. So the ball's coming at me and I start backing out, and then it broke inside. And the umpire says, 'Strike one!' And I'm saying, 'How is that a strike? It almost hit me!'

In the old days, you know, they didn't have batting cages. And in most ball parks, they only had one runway to the dugout.

When I throw a ground ball, I expect it to be an out, maybe two.

I didn't get over 1300 walks without knowing the strike zone.

You have to have a catcher because if you don't you're likely to have a lot of passed balls.

Balls and strikes are the basic tenet to everything in baseball. From the perspective of hitting, pitching, offense and defense, it's all about the strike zone and how the battle is waged there between the pitcher and hitter.

One of the things you do in a baseball game is scream at the umpire in the hope that the next call will go your way.

The first sport I played was baseball. I remember being on the Little League team and someone pitching the ball to me for the first time. I was ready to no longer hit the ball off the tee, and an adult pitched it to me underhand.

Baseball is a game of race, creed, and color. The race is to first base. The creed is the rules of the game. The color? Well, the home team wears white uniforms, and the visiting team wears gray.

Let the pitcher move first, then, as he draws his arm back, you draw the bat back and you are ready.

I am a lefty, though I bat right-handed... When I was a kid I pitched, played first, outfield and shortstop as well. Now it's mainly softball with some friends.

Hitting the ball was easy. Running around the bases was the tough part.

When a pitcher's throwing a spitball, don't worry and don't complain, just hit the dry side like I do.

No, I've never played baseball in my life.

My job isn't to strike guys out; it's to get them out - sometimes by striking them out.

In baseball, I was a pitcher, which I hated because there was no action there.

I always liked the defensive part of baseball.

The pitcher setting up the batter. It's chess, and you play with it.

Just take the ball and throw it where you want to. Throw strikes. Home plate don't move.

I knew it was gonna go out. It was just a question of it being fair or foul. The wind must have carried it 15 feet toward the foul pole. I just stood there and watched. I didn't want to miss seeing it go out.

I usually stick out my hand and hope he puts the ball in it. Except the one time I went out to take Early Wynn out. I stuck out my hand and he hit me right in the stomach with the ball.

A tall, thin old man waving a scorecard from the corner of his dugout. That's baseball.

The catcher is a groundhog. He's a guy squatting down, digging for the ball in the dirt, and sweating under a pile of uncomfortable protective gear while his knees creak.

When I went to home plate in a game-tied situation or with a chance to do something and help the ballclub win one, I'd try to make eye contact with the pitcher.

Catchers just aren't glamorous.