Frank Robinson
All in all, I wouldn't call it a bad outing. It was a short outing.
I played with some outstanding players.
Al Campanis made people finally understand what goes on behind closed doors - that there is racism in baseball.
Close don't count in baseball. Close only counts in horseshoes and grenades.
As a black, you find you have to be two or three times better than a white even to play. And when it comes to front-office jobs, management believes you'll never be as good.
I haven't seen a player in this game, as long as I've been in it, that can't be pitched to... Barry is an outstanding ballplayer. I respect him an awful lot. I also have confidence in my pitchers that they can pitch to Barry Bonds and get him out.
But I'm not going to walk Barry Bonds, like some teams do, in the first inning with nobody on.
I just didn't have anything to say, so I said nothing.
I always tried to do the best. I knew I couldn't always be the best, but I tried to be.
I know a lot of people on the field - players, coaches, managers - are glad that I'm gone.
Pitchers did me a favor when they knocked me down. It made me more determined. I wouldn't let that pitcher get me out. They say you can't hit if you're on your back, but I didn't hit on my back. I got up.
It's nice to come into a town and be referred to as the manager of the Cleveland Indians instead of as the first black manager.
You have to have a short memory as a closer.
If the guys on the bench were as good as the guys you have out there, they'd be out there in first place.
The fan is the one who suffers. He cheers a guy to a .350 season then watches that player sign with another team. When you destroy fan loyalties, you destroy everything.
At least when it's in French, I won't know what the heck they're saying.
No. 1, these guys out here on this field. They keep my energy level up. They try hard, they don't complain about things - and I'd just like to be with them when things are good, and hopefully we can win a pennant together.
Managers don't have as much leverage as they used to have. We can't really be the boss.
No, I don't think my presence will cause an increase in black attendance at Cleveland.
People come out to see the players. When do you see a manager anyway? When he's out on the field arguing with the umpires, making a fool of himself and you know you can't win, and when he brings out the line-up card.
If he can hit, he can hit. I don't care if he came from Class Z league.
The way we're going... if I called up another pitcher, he'd just hang up the phone on me.
I've never seen baseball advertise for a job, and I've never heard of whites applying for a job. I mean, there's an old boy network, and it's lily white.
During the years I was still playing, I would go to Puerto Rico in the winter and manage. When the day came, I had the experience without having to go to the minor leagues for four or five years and then wait for an opportunity. Still, there's a double standard. Some whites, like Pete Rose, Joe Torre and Ted Williams, never had to go to the minors.
It was a breaking period for black people coming into baseball, and how many followed depended on Jackie's conduct. But that's not the case now. What and how I do doesn't mean nearly as much as what and how Jackie did.
I wanted to show Baltimore that they were getting a good ballplayer.
Be anything you want to be, but don't be dull.Collection: Writing
Whether you're trying to excel in athletics or in any other field, always practice. Look, listen, learn - and practice, practice, practice. There is no substitute for work, no shortcut to the top.Collection: Basketball
I had no trouble communicating, the player's just didn't like what I had to say.Collection: Player
I don't see why you reporters keep confusing Brooks (Robinson) and me. Can't you see that we wear different numbers.Collection: Numbers
I don't see anyone playing in the major leagues today (1982) who combines both the talent and the intensity that I had. I always tried to do the best. I knew I couldn't always be the best, but I tried to be.Collection: League
Listen, I was the first black manager in baseball and there was incredible pressure. I don't blame anyone else. I was too tough . . . I lack patience. I probably got on guys a little too hard, with the wrong tone of voice.Collection: Baseball
Probably the most dramatic change in pitching I've observed in my years in baseball has been the disappearance of the knockdown or brushback pitch. This is why record numbers of home runs are flying out of ballparks, why earned run averages are soaring, and why there are so few twenty game winners in the majors.Collection: Baseball
The baselines belongs to the runner, and whenever I was running the bases, I always slid hard. I wanted infielders to have that instant's hesitation about coming across the bag at second or about standing in there awaiting a throw to make a tag. There are only 27 outs in a ballgame, and it was my job to save one for my team every time I possibly could.Collection: Running
There's absolutely no way you can go barreling into second and dump a guy on a double play, like you should do, when you've been fraternizing with him before a game.Collection: Games
I expect that [trying to do the best] of my players today and of my kids. My wife says I shouldn't expect that of my children, but I don't think that's asking too much.Collection: Children
No, I don't think my presence will cause an increase in black attendance at Cleveland. People come out to see the players. When do you see a manager anyway? When he's out on the field arguing with the umpires, making a fool of himself and you know you can't win, and when he brings out the line-up card.Collection: Winning