Minor League Quotes & Sayings

I went to college for a reason, and that was to skip the minor leagues. I spent a year in the minors and got my at-bats in, and then I felt like I was ready for the big leagues. — Mark Teixeira

I have a secret. A big, fat, hairy secret. And I'm not talking minor-league stuff, like I once let Joseph Applebaum feel me up behind the seventh-grade stairwell or I got a Brazilian wax after work last Friday or I'm hiding a neon blue vibrator called the Electric Slide in my night table. Which I'm not, by the way. In case you were wondering. — Karen MacInerney

When there were just eight teams in each of the big leagues, I was always told, 'It's hard to come up, but it's just hard to stay in the big leagues.' That's because there's always somebody. The Cardinals had so many minor league clubs and had so many good ballplayers. — Red Schoendienst

Major League Baseball has the best idea of all. Three years before they'll take a kid out of college, then they have a minor league system that they put the kids in. I'm sure that if the NBA followed the same thing, there would be a lot of kids in a minor league system that still were not good enough to play in the major NBA. — Bobby Knight

I've been sent down to the minor leagues six or seven times in my career. You've just got to have that stability. It's huge. It's comforting. And it's reassuring. To be part of something in this world that's constantly changing like baseball, it's awesome to have your hope anchored in something that's so stable. — Matt Diaz

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

Minor league umpires are evaluated in their respective leagues each year and rated numerically. This enables umpires to know where they stand and helps them make prudent career decisions. — Jim Evans

I stayed attached to baseball through the kids and through minor league baseball, and I'm very satisfied with the schedule it allows me to have, which means I'm home until my kids go off to college. I value that time. — Cal Ripken Jr.

In May of 2010, the newest pitching phenom, Stephen Strasburg, played a minor league game in Syracuse. A huge crowd turned out, the largest in the history of the stadium. The game was broadcast on regional television. Gazing over the enormous crowd, the play-by-play man asked his partner on the air if he had ever seen a pitcher draw such a crowd all by himself. The color commentator, ex-Detroit Tiger pitcher Steve Grilli, answered without hesitation, "Yea, Mark 'The Bird' Fidrych - every time he went out. — Doug Wilson

Whether you're playing in the minor leagues or major-league divisions, wherever you are, it's always nice to be recognized as an All-Star. — Gaby Sanchez

As a 20th round pick nothing was handed to me in the minor leagues. — Mike Lowell

I never pay attention to errors in the Minor Leagues. Derek Jeter made 43 errors in the South Atlantic League, and I didn't care. With his hands and his range, I don't worry about that with Zimmerman. He is a good defensive player. — Jim Bowden

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

Maybe in the minor leagues. With my velocity, they would pick it up and say, 'Hey, you dropped something.' — Jay Feaster

He [Vince Spadea] was about as down and out as you could see from a Top 20 player. Then to claw his way back through the minor leagues and do it the hard way where he wasn't young, wasn't getting wildcards, wasn't getting any help. I guess he decided he was just going to do it. — Andy Roddick

We were a minor league team that didn't feed into any majors, in a town that loved just about every sport but ours. We were going nowhere and we knew it, so why not have fun? In the forties, when I was playing, we were officially the most violent team in the country, and that means probably the whole world, and by the way, that's why I could skate with no toes. A figure skater, a speed skater, an NHL forward, sure, you need your toes for control, but all that finesse takes a backseat when all you're trying to do is slam somebody into a wall and break all his teeth. — Dan Wells

I never really worried about stats in the minor leagues. I was more concerned with getting better and bringing a positive attitude every day. — Matt Holliday

I need to be out earning. I can make more in two hours at a card show than I did [as a minor-league manager] all year. — Mike Schmidt

Athletes who take to the classroom naturally or are encouraged to focus on grades should be able to do well in the classroom. I believe the reason you go to college is to get your degree. It's not a minor league or an audition for the pros. — Rebecca Lobo

I enjoyed hitting in the Major Leagues more than in the Minor Leagues. I didn't want to tell anybody it was easier, because I didn't want to sound cocky. But Major League pitchers had better control, and most of them were around the plate. — Willie McCovey

I couldn't believe I hit .342. I hit .333 one month in Triple-A. Otherwise, I hit .279 in the minor leagues. I'm proud of myself. — Robinson Cano

College football is no more of a minor league than, say, the universities' schools of journalism, engineering or music are. We can argue at another time whether football should occupy the same space on campus as those disciplines, but for now, it does. The critical point is that a coach is less concerned with preparing athletes for the next level than he is with molding them to fit a system that helps him win games, keep his job and, eventually, move on to a position with a more prestigious program. — William C. Rhoden

Umpires, like players, are expected to show constant improvement each season and at each level. Inconsistent plate work and the inability to handle situations are probably the two biggest problems that minor league umpires face. — Jim Evans

And you learn [how to win] starting in the minor leagues, by winning day in and day out. — Eric Byrnes

I enjoy traveling and playing baseball.Other than that, the minor leagues are tough. The wear and tear on your body.. and it's tough to stay on a nutrition program because you can only eat what is within walking distance of the hotel and what the clubhouse provides. — Tyler Thornburg

I am involved in minor league baseball. I go around the country speaking to troubled youths, trying to help them understand that whatever path they choose, they'll need to really pay attention to it. — Gerry Cooney

At the minor-league and major-league level, you know how important your coaching staff is, but in a big market it becomes absolutely huge. — Mike Quade

In 1962 I was named Minor League Player of the Year. It was my second season in the bigs. — Bob Uecker

You know, I was once named Minor League Player of the Year ... unfortunately, I had been in the majors for two years at the time. — Bob Uecker

To convert college sports into professional sports would be tantamount to converting it into minor league sports. And we know that in the U.S., minor league sports aren't very successful either for fan support or for the fan experience. — Mark Emmert

Anyone interested in becoming a professional umpire and becoming eligible to work in the minor leagues must attend one of the two umpire schools sanctioned by Major League Baseball. — Jim Evans

The minor leagues were great. When you first sign, that is your big leagues. — Brian Roberts