Baseball Trivia Quotes

Vic Wertz once hit a ball rather famously that was later described as such: 'It would have been a home run in any other park - including Yellowstone.' Instead, he's remembered as the guy who got robbed by Willie Mays' spectacular catch during the 1954 World Series between the Indians and the Giants, a play that remains one of the game's all-time greatest defensive efforts. What people often forget about Wertz is that his greatest battle wasn't that one at bat, and that one out never defined his career. He was stricken with polio in 1955, and after 74 games his season was over and his career was hanging in the balance. 'The Catch' by Willie Mays couldn't keep him down, and neither could polio - he came back in 1956, and despite playing in only 136 games he belted 32 home runs with 106 RBIs. ~ Tucker Elliot

Correct thinkers think that 'baseball trivia' is an oxymoron: nothing about baseball is trivial. ~ George Will

The Indians franchise is more than a century old. It's been called the Blues, the Bronchos, and the Naps. It's also been called a lot worse during hard times when the team wasn't winning. ~ Tucker Elliot

Sometimes are feats aren't so fabulous, they're just dubious - but either way, they're fun to talk about. ~ Tucker Elliot

The best word to describe Albert Belle during the mid-1990s is "prolific." The man could flat hit. ~ Tucker Elliot

I don't know how long we talked about that game the first time my dad showed me the ticket stub. He admitted he hadn't even been sure that he still had it, that he was surprised when he'd been able to find it. But we've spent hours and hours and hours talking about it since. And it's pretty amazing, because that ticket stub sat in a box for two decades - once it let my dad into a stadium to see a baseball game, and then later, it let me into my dad's world, into his past, to learn about the man who taught me to love a game so passionately that it shaped nearly every aspect of my life. ~ Tucker Elliot

It's one thing to win a game with a base hit, or to save a game by pitching a scoreless ninth ... it's something altogether different to save our National Pastime by day in and day out showing up with the joy and passion of a kid playing Little League and the determined attitude and work ethic of a consummate professional bent on doing one thing and one thing only: his job. ~ Tucker Elliot

Joe DiMaggio batted safely in 56 consecutive games in 1941, the same season Ted Williams batted .406 - but did you know that also in 1941, Jeff Heath, an outfielder who spent a decade playing for the Indians, became the first player in AL history to hit 20 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 home runs in the same season? It's true. ~ Tucker Elliot

The best pitchers have a short term memory and a bullet proof confidence. ~ Greg Maddux

What cracks me up is people who think I don't take baseball seriously. It's the most important thing in my life. They don't know how hard it is for me to get a bad game out of my mind. I still can't, but I'm getting better. ~ Brady Anderson

Sorry, I didn't know that you had a vagina, I'll refrain from using vulgar words for now on. How about it smells like pee pee and poo poo, with a little bit of spew, is that better?"
"You're a real character, you know that?"
"Thanks, I try," she says. "Now, let's get the shi-stuff and get out of here."
"Fine," I say. "But for future reference, I like it better when you curse. It's pretty funny to see a pissed off Tinkerbell." I run from the baseball mitt being hurled at my head, laughing all the way . ~ Katelin LaMontagne

I always say, the only time you gotta worry about getting booed is when you're wearing a white uniform. And I've never been booed wearing a white uniform. ~ Pete Rose

I never followed baseball very much. As a kid, I never followed sports. ~ Harrison Ford

Do you know the nicest thing about looking at pictures of a 1950's baseball park? The only people wearing baseball caps are the players. ~ George Carlin

A man once told me to walk with the Lord. I'd rather walk with the bases loaded. ~ Ken Singleton

Jimmy Carter was - he still - he remains to this day America's most ex of ex-presidents. You just can't believe that we elected this doofus. He was a bright enough guy and sort of well-meaning. But he was about as prepared to be president of the United States as your goofy old uncle, you know, the one that memorises baseball statistics. ~ P. J. O'Rourke

Last night's homer was Stargell's 399th career home run, leaving him one shy of 500. ~ Jerry Coleman

As we all know, Cooperstown is the home of baseball. One of the many duties of the home plate umpire is to make sure that the runner touches home. Well, if you're a true baseball fan, you need to visit Cooperstown. This is home. ~ Doug Harvey

I have to play baseball to make me happy. I have to be an athlete. But when it's all said and done, I'll be a normal father. A normal-type house man. ~ Rickey Henderson

I had a client who was a professional baseball player once, and he would go to clubs and dance for seven, eight, nine hours at a time. He wouldn't drink, he wouldn't take drugs - he just danced because he had so much physical energy; he was this amazing athlete. ~ Martha Beck

You get what you earn. ~ Paul Konerko

I do what I've trained my whole life to do. I watch the ball. I keep my eye on the ball. I never stop watching.
I watch it as it sails past me and lands in the catcher's mitt, a perfect and glorious strike three. ~ Barry Lyga

This is the same advice they give people who've just come out of rehab. After a grueling period of work (or what passes for grueling work in our soft-handed world) you will crave some kind of reward. Don't let this cause you to rush into a big decision, like a new house or a marriage or partial ownership of a minor league baseball team, that you may later regret. The interesting thing about this piece of advice is that no one ever takes it. ~ Tina Fey

You didn't have to say it was gone. It was gone before it got outta here. It was going that fast. ~ Jerry Coleman

The great thing about baseball players, from the point of view of personal hygiene, is how seldom they break a sweat. ~ Michael Lewis

Twenty years ago rooting for the Yankees was like rooting for IBM. ~ George Will

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. ~ Joe Garagiola

Micah plays baseball, and he has a face so symmetrical, you could summon demons on it. ~ Rainbow Rowell

Baseball, boxing, handball - sooner or later every game gets compared to narrative, but only in football are the plays perfectly linear, drawn up with letters, and only in football is the field itself lined like a sheet of notebook paper. ~ J.R. Moehringer

It really gets into your system. All baseball players have this internal clock around February when it starts to kick in and the juices start to flow. I think underestimated how much I was going to miss it. ~ David Cone

When I think about athletes, probably my favorite guest of all time among baseball players was Ted Williams. ~ Charlie Rose

I really love baseball. The guys and the game, and I love the challenge of describing things. The only thing I hate - and I know you have to be realistic and pay the bills in this life - is the loneliness on the road. ~ Vin Scully

If you don't succeed at first, try pitching. ~ Jack Harshman

He said to play louder. He can't hear you. ~ Mickey Mantle

'This is America,' my father used to say to me, 'and in this country, a smart young fellow like you can grow up and do just about anything.' My dad, no doubt, was thinking doctor, lawyer, teacher, scientist or businessman. I was thinking second baseman, New York Yankees. ~ Joe Lieberman

The Red Sox are a religion. Every year we re-enact the agony and the temptation in the Garden. Baseball child's play? Hell, up here in Boston it's a passion play. ~ George V. Higgins

A guy's definition of baseball: you don't have to buy the other team dinner to get game. ~ Jill Shalvis

I started playing baseball and soccer. Those were my sports on the streets and in school when I was growing up. I didn't even start playing basketball until I was 14. ~ Earl Monroe

Why is it there are so many nice guys interested in baseball? Not me, I was a real bastard when I played. ~ Burleigh Grimes

They've taken the foot off Johnny Grubb. Uh, they've taken the shoe off Johnny Grubb. ~ Jerry Coleman

Major league baseball players and owners should meet immediately to enact the standards that apply to the minor leagues, and if they don't, I will have to introduce legislation that says professional sports will have minimum standards for testing. I'll give them until January, and then I'll introduce legislation. ~ John McCain

Mr. Rush slapped Drew on the back of the head. "You pay attention, Morrow. There'll be hell to pay if you hurt my drum major. I'll have Clayton Porridge out in the middle of the football field, doing the cancan."
"The cancan is surprisingly difficult," Barry said. "It takes a lot more coordination than Clayton Porridge has."
Mr. Rush gave Barry the brain-melting stare.
Barry shrank. "I know this because I played Little League baseball with Clayton Porridge."
Mr. Rush kept staring.
"Sir," Barry added. ~ Jennifer Echols

The reason I didn't take the baseball route is because they don't have rankings for baseball players. ~ Jim Courier

Jack took me to the Christmas Dance.
It snowed the day of the dance, making the Meier Farmhouse and Dance Hall look like something out of a painting, the lights on the roof glowing under sheets of white. And when Jack led me onto the dance floor and grasped one of my hands and tugged it up behind his neck, then placed his arm around my back, soft and low, I thought life couldn't get better.
He pulled me close against him, our hands clasped next to his chest.The cedar from the farmhouse mingled with Jack's aftershave,making a sweet, rustic scent.
"Becks,remember the first time we met?" he asked,his lips grazing my ear.
Of course I remembered. The events of that day were permanently etched into my brain. "You mean,the time you nearly beheaded me with a baseball?"
"I had to do something to get the new girl's attention."
"A simple 'hello' would have worked."
He pulled me in tighter, as if that were possible. "Why did we wait so long to do this?"
"Um, because you were making your way through the entire cheerleading squad?"
He looked at me for a few moments, then shook his head and leaned in to brush his lips along my shoulder.
I closed my eyes. If this was what I could expect for the rest of my high school years,I never wanted to graduate.
Ever. ~ Brodi Ashton

The thing I write will be the thing I write. ~ Steve Shilstone

My God, it was like the Emerald City, and as you got closer you'd pick up your pace, and you'd give your tickets and go charging inside. ~ Joe Flaherty