Tom Seaver Quotes & Sayings

God is living in New York, and he's a Mets fan. — Tom Seaver

My pitch count as a general rule was 135. And I knew how many pitches I had when I went to the mound for the last three innings. — Tom Seaver

If the Mets can win the World Series, the United States can get out of Vietnam. — Tom Seaver

What's important is to get into the pitcher's head: to know what he's made of. — Tom Seaver

A good professional athlete must have the love of a little boy. And the good players feel the kind of love for the game that they did when they were Little Leaguers. — Tom Seaver

The concentration and dedication- the intangibles are the deciding factors between who won and who lost. — Tom Seaver

I would like to be a great artist. I would quit pitching if I could paint like Monet or Rousseau. But I can't. What I can do is pitch, and I can do that very well. — Tom Seaver

Some pitchers want to be known as the fastest throwers that ever lived. Some want to win 30 games in one season. Some want to pitch a no-hitter. All I want to do is the best I can, day after day. In other words, I want to prove I am the best. — Tom Seaver

No one had more impact on my career than Gil Hodges. Playing for him was a
learning experience, and he was a tower of strength. Not everbody liked him, but
everybody respected him. He went about his job in a very professional manner,
and it caused me to do the same with my job. — Tom Seaver

If you don't think baseball is a big deal, don't do it. But if you do, do it right. — Tom Seaver

There is no set numerical value you can put on a pitcher. They're all different. — Tom Seaver

My job isn't to strike guys out; it's to get them out - sometimes by striking them out. — Tom Seaver

There's nothing wrong with pitch counts. But not when it's spit out by a computer, and the computer does not look at an individual's mechanics. And you can't look at his genes. It should come from the individual and the pitching coach and the manager. — Tom Seaver

Once a year, I take my whole wine team down to see the Giants, and we meet the players. I've never seen anyone pitch like Lincecum that can throw the ball and get through the front leg. He has that stiff front leg. — Tom Seaver

There are only two places in the league - first place and no place. — Tom Seaver

Basically, hitters fall into a pattern, and once you know what they like, you can set them up for the putout with something else. — Tom Seaver

Do you think it's easy to just walk up to Joe DiMaggio and start up a
conversation? I've been around him at old-timers' games, and believe me, he's
someone special. It's not easy to walk over and say, 'How ya doin', Joe, whaddya
say?' You really feel as though this is the one old-timer you have to call
Mister. — Tom Seaver

Fenway is the essence of baseball — Tom Seaver

Only three or four outs directly affect the outcome of any given game ... One of the greatest challenges of pitching is to recognize these critical situations and rise to the occasion with consistency and a competitive spirit. — Tom Seaver

The good rising fastball is the best pitch in baseball. — Tom Seaver

Take a look at all of them: Marichal, Jenkins, Spahn - what do you think made them successful? They conditioned their arms by pitching more, not less, starting from when they signed their first contract. — Tom Seaver

Pitch within yourself. — Tom Seaver

You have the honor and privilege of being in position to do something amazingly special. If you have the chance, you must do it. — Tom Seaver

I'm a huge advocate of pitching. You have to have good pitching as the solid core, the foundation. It keeps you in every game. — Tom Seaver

The artful pitcher must take the inevitable peaks and valleys of pitching in stride and never give in to the batters or lose sight of his/her own strengths. — Tom Seaver

It takes 20 victories for people to recognize you as a great pitcher. — Tom Seaver

Pitching is what you have best on the day you work, and if you can't get your fastball over the plate, then maybe you can win with your curve. — Tom Seaver

There are only two places in this league, First Place and No Place. — Tom Seaver

I had 12 years under my belt of baseball at the amateur level before I got to the big leagues. — Tom Seaver

The thing most people don't understand is that pitching isn't the same every time out. — Tom Seaver

Imagine if these computer geeks who are running baseball now were allowed to run a war? They'd be telling our soldiers: 'That's enough. You've fired too many bullets from your rifle this week!' — Tom Seaver