#knowledge

"Oh yes, THAT Robason. Well, I seen Mr. Paige and I seen Rogan and I seen Mr. Josh Gibson, did you ever see that centerfield wall in Pittsburgh? Well, he hit one-out-of-three over it and I would have to say Mr. Robason shouldn't think he was the only man was brought in the big leagues was a wizard, why, he hit the lousiest popup I ever seen in a World Series he, this wizard Mr. Robason hit the ball clear to the pitcher's mound and Mr. Billy Martin catches it and we beat Mr. Robason's team for the fourth time in five. And the time they beat us, he wasn't in the lineup, he took the day off in the seventh game, you could look it up, so it's possible a college education doesn't always help you if you can't hit a lefthanded changeup as far as the shortstop, but I'm not bragging, you understand, as I don't have a clear notion myself about atomics and physics."

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“There comes a time at least once in every man's life, and I've had plenty of them.”

“It's a good likeness of The Dutchman. It's perfect the way they have him holding a bat in his big hands. He was good with the bat but he was a terror with that glove, too. And my, how he could run the bases. Come to think of it, he was as good a ball player as I ever saw. Maybe the best. John McGraw always said Wagner was the greatest and I'm inclined to agree with him. He was certainly the best I ever played against. Wagner was a huge man with huge hands. He could cover ground and he could throw. Amazing thing about him was his arm. It was only as good as the runner. If you were an average runner, he'd just beat you with his throw. And if you were fast, he'd just beat you again.”

“Without losers, where would the winners be?”

“I guess this means they fired me. I'll never make the mistake of being 70 years old again.”

“Nowadays, when a pitcher gets a ball close to the hitter, the hitter comes back to the bench and says: "You know, I think he's throwing at me." That shows you how times have changed. When I broke in, you knew damned well they were throwing at you.”

“Now the secret to successful managing is to break down your club. The first 15 guys you don't have to bother with. They are always playing and don't need the manager. The next five play only occasionally, so you got to keep buttering them up. The last five you gotta watch all the time because they're plotting to get you fired.”