Willie Stargell Quotes

My first job after my retirement from baseball was as a narrator for the Eastman Philharmonica.

I've always been a slave to my heart.

Trying to hit Sandy Koufax was like trying to drink coffee with a fork.

I flailed my arm in a throwing motion before I could even walk.

Human beings are pampered by the Lord. Their real tests don't come until later in life.

Simple pleasures were all the pleasures that I knew as a child.

Reporters often forget that athletes are human beings.

When we make a mistake, it becomes front-page news. We don't need any reporter telling us how badly we played.

I was always a self-proclaimed poor slider.

We all wore a 21 patch that one season as a silent tribute to our deceased teammate Roberto.

I eventually became proud of my strikeouts, because each one represented another learning experience.

There's nothing I value more than the closeness of friends and family, a smile as I pass someone on the street.

Oakland revolved around Forbes Field. Nothing in the city could match that atmosphere.

To me, baseball has always been a reflection of life. Like life, it adjusts. It survives everything.

Throwing a knuckleball for a strike is like throwing a butterfly with hiccups across the street into your neighbor's mailbox.

Judgment traps you within the limitations of your comparisons. It inhibits freedom.

I'm a God-fearing man who worships with my heart and with my life.

I owe a large part of my success to Joe Brown, who helped me both as a player and a person.

Pittsburgh isn't fancy, but it is real. It's a working town and money doesn't come easy. I feel as much a part of this city as the cobblestone streets and the steel mills, people in this town expect an honest day's work, and I've it to them for a long, long time.

Helping someone is what life is all about.

People like us are afraid to leave ball. What else is there to do? When baseball has been your whole life, you can't think about a future without it, so you hang on as long as you can.

I'm always amazed when a pitcher becomes angry at a hitter for hitting a home run off him. When I strike out, I don't get angry at the pitcher, I get angry at myself. I would think that if a pitcher threw up a home run ball, he should be angry at himself.

I love September, especially when we're in it.

I never search for a reason why - I have faith in the Lord's purpose.

I would always reserve a special place in my heart for Pittsburgh.

I don't really feel that I deserve all my applause.

Never was I booed.

To be successful, one must take chances.

I'm proud of the fact that I'm the only player to hit a ball completely out of Dodger Stadium.

Life is one big transition.

I've witnessed thousands of superior athletes try to becomes hitters and fail at it.

Playing baseball was my dream, and no amount of money could sway my opinion.

Baseball for me was instinctive, born within me, given to me as a gift from God.

It's supposed to be fun, the man says 'Play Ball' not 'Work Ball' you know.

Never had I had so many friends and so much fun as I did in the projects.

You only have a few years to play this game and you can't play it if you're all tied up in knots.

I gave out stars whenever an appropriate situation presented itself.

That's where the future lies, in the youth of today.

The bat is gone, but the smile remains.

I was bred as an outcast, part Negro and part Seminole, in my early years raised as an Indian.

I loved to hit with men on base and with the game on the line.