Sparky Anderson Quotes & Sayings

Managing is not running, hitting, or stealing. Managing is getting your players to put out one hundred percent year after year. — Sparky Anderson

Me carrying a briefcase is like a hotdog wearing earrings. — Sparky Anderson

Mike Laga will make you forget about every power hitter that ever lived. — Sparky Anderson

You give us the pitching some of these clubs have and no one could touch us, but God has a way of not arranging that, because it's not as much fun. — Sparky Anderson

The only reason I'm coming out here tomorrow is the schedule says I have to. — Sparky Anderson

If a team is in a positive frame of mind, it will have a good attitude. If it has a good attitude, it will make a commitment to playing the game right. If it plays the game right, it will win-unless, of course, it doesn't have enough talent to win, and no manager can make goose-liver pate out of goose feathers, so why worry? — Sparky Anderson

A baseball manager is a necessary evil. — Sparky Anderson

Players have two things to do. Play and keep their mouths shut. — Sparky Anderson

Good seasons start with good beginnings. — Sparky Anderson

I don't know why the players make such a big fuss about sitting in the first class section of the plane. Does that mean they'll get there faster? — Sparky Anderson

He's (Willie Stargell) such a big strong guy he should love that porch. He's got power enough to hit home runs in any park, including Yellowstone. — Sparky Anderson

The players make the manager, it's never the other way. — Sparky Anderson

Baseball is a simple game. If you have good players and if you keep them in the right frame of mind then the manager is a success. — Sparky Anderson

No manager ever won no ballgames. — Sparky Anderson

I managed 26 years and found out when I retired I didn't own the game. I thought I owned it when I was managing all those years. You can climb to the top of the mountain, get down on your knees and kiss the ground, because you'll never own that mountain. That mountain is only owned by one single person, and he'll never give it up. That's the way baseball is. — Sparky Anderson

Success isn't something that just happens - success is learned, success is practiced and then it is shared. — Sparky Anderson

He's (Jose Canseco) built like a Greek goddess. — Sparky Anderson

If you have to choose between power and speed and it often turns out you have to make that choice, you've got to go for speed. — Sparky Anderson

Our pitching could be better than I think it will be. — Sparky Anderson

You can be whoever you want to be, you just have to want it bad enough. — Sparky Anderson

Pete (Rose) doesn't run with celebrities and he can't stand the phonies. His big buddy in LA ain't Sinatra, it's a funny old groundskeeper. — Sparky Anderson

Inner peace is not found in things like baseball and world championships. As long as I feel I've done the best job I possibly could, I'm satisfied. — Sparky Anderson

People who live in the past generally are afraid to compete in the present. I've got my faults, but living in the past is not one of them. There's no future in it. — Sparky Anderson

You're gonna lose some ball games and you're gonna win some ball games and that's about it. — Sparky Anderson

Am I a great manager? Huh. I was blessed to have a front office that found great talent, and then I was smart enough to stay the hell out of their way. — Sparky Anderson

The man I marvel at is the one that's in there day after day, and night after night and still puts the figures on the board. I'm talking about Pete Rose, Stan Musial, the real stars. Believe me, especially the way we travel today, flying all night with a game the next night and then the next afternoon, if you can play one-hundred and sixty-two games, you're a man. — Sparky Anderson

Just give me 25 guys on the last year of their contracts; I'll win a pennant every year. — Sparky Anderson

If I ever find a pitcher who has heat, a good curve, and a slider, I might seriously consider marrying him, or at least proposing. — Sparky Anderson

It's a terrible thing to have to tell your fans, who have waited like Detroit's have, that their team won't win it this year. But it's better than lying to them. — Sparky Anderson

Success is the person who year after year reaches the highest limits in his field. — Sparky Anderson

Explaining why he was forced to cut a utility player: You just got caught in a position where you have no position. — Sparky Anderson

I only had a high school education and believe me, I had to cheat to get that. — Sparky Anderson

Every 24 hours the world turns over on someone who was sitting on top of it. — Sparky Anderson

I don't believe a manager ever won a pennant. Casey Stengel won all those pennants with the Yankees. How many did he win with the Boston Braves and Mets? — Sparky Anderson

The trick is to realize that after giving your best, there's nothing more to give. — Sparky Anderson

We're the best team in baseball, but not by much. — Sparky Anderson

I understand people who boo us. It's like going to Broadway show, you pay for your tickets and expect to be entertained. When you're not, you have a right to complain. — Sparky Anderson

I'm beginning to see Brooks [Robinson] in my sleep. If I dropped a paper plate, he'd pick it up on one hop and throw me out at first. — Sparky Anderson

Pete Rose is baseball. — Sparky Anderson

I don't want to embarrass any other catcher by comparing him to Johnny Bench. — Sparky Anderson

I've changed my mind about it (DH) - instead of being bad, it stinks. — Sparky Anderson

Chris Pittaro is the best rookie I've had in 15 years. — Sparky Anderson

They say the first World Series is the one you remember most. No, no no. I guarantee you don't remember that one because the fantasy world you always dreamed about is suddenly real. — Sparky Anderson

Casey knew his baseball. He only made it look like he was fooling around. He knew every move that was ever invented and some that we haven't even caught on to yet. — Sparky Anderson

The day I got a hit off (Sandy) Koufax was when he knew it was all over. — Sparky Anderson

I cannot get rid of the hurt from losing, but after the last out of every loss, I must accept that there will be a tomorrow. In fact, it's more than there'll be a tomorrow, it's that I want there to be a tomorrow. That's the big difference, I want tomorrow to come. — Sparky Anderson

The only thing I believe is this: A player does not have to like a manager and he does not have to respect a manager. All he has to do is obey the rules. — Sparky Anderson

This game has taken a lot of guys over the years who would have had to work in factories and gas stations and made them prominent people. I only had a high school education, and believe me, I had to cheat to get that. There isn't a college in the world that would have me and yet in this business you can walk into a room with millionaires, doctors, professional people and get more attention than they get. I don't know any other business where you can do that. — Sparky Anderson

Problem with (John) Wockenfuss getting on base is that it takes three doubles to score him. — Sparky Anderson

My idea of managing is giving the ball to Tom Seaver and sitting down and watching him work. — Sparky Anderson

The great thing about baseball is when you're done, you'll only tell your grandchildren the good things. If they ask me about 1989, I'll tell them I had amnesia. — Sparky Anderson

I hope the car they (Sport Magazine who awarded it to the World Series MVP) give him (Brooks Robinson) has an extra large glove box. — Sparky Anderson