Quotes & Sayings About Yankees

He was ever conscious of his obligation to play well. Late in his career, when his legs were bothering him and the Yankees had a comfortable lead in a pennant race, a friend of his, columnist Jimmy Cannon, asked him why he played so hard - the games, after all, no longer meant so much. "Because there might be somebody out there who's never seen me play before," he answered. — David Halberstam

Let me tell you something: I love the Yankees. And let me tell you why: because without the Yankees, there is nobody to hate. — Denis Leary

During the 1920s New York Yankee owner Jacob Ruppert once described his perfect afternoon at Yankee Stadium. 'It's when the Yankees score eight runs in the first inning,' Ruppert said, 'and then slowly pull away.' — Peter Golenbock

My God ... What are the headlines going to be like on Monday if the Yankees don't make the playoffs? — Wade Boggs

I was happy that I was drafted, and then it was the Yankees and that just made it even better. — Nick Johnson

Baseball has changed dramatically since I began my tenure with the Yankees. — Joe Torre

When I look in the mirror, I look at the enemy. There is no one to blame for this but myself. I should have bought myself a mirror a long time ago. — Darryl Strawberry

My favorite is when you go to Afghanistan and you meet the special forces guys, and they look like these heavily armed surfers. These guys are the best. You see guys dressed as full Afghans, but then wearing a Yankees hat. — Robin Williams

I'm so excited about the new [Yankee] stadium! — Mark Teixeira

His reputation preceded him before he got here. — Don Mattingly

I was known as a Yankee killer. My best year against them was 1953. I beat them five times and shut them out four times. You just played a little harder against them. — Mel Parnell

Baseball will miss Steinbrenner. He did a lot of great things-and some not so great-but it's a sad day for baseball, no doubt about it. He was a winner, and he made the Yankees a winner. — Don Zimmer

I would say I was jock. I went to Sierra College. I was a big baseball player. Getting into the MLB was my dream - to become a left-handed pitcher for the Yankees. That's what I was hoping, but life kind of went the other way. — Ryan Guzman

I was Mayor of New York during a great Yankees dynasty. I got to preside over the city during four Yankees championships. — Rudy Giuliani

I was sitting in the back room by myself when someone came in and said, "Mr. Zimmer, I have to take you down to the make up room." I told them that if anyone can help this face they deserve a bonus. — Don Zimmer

Dear Scarlett! You aren't helpless. Anyone as selfish and determined as you are is never helpless. God help the Yankees if they should get you. -Rhett Butler — Margaret Mitchell

Canzeroni is the only defensive catcher that can't catch. — Casey Stengel

You're never going to be a Yankee for a day, or you're never going to be a Laker, but with Pro-Ams, they allow you to feel like you're a professional golfer and play under their conditions. — George Lopez

As for the Yankees, they had no other ambition than to take possession of this new continent of the sky, and to plant upon the summit of its highest elevation the star- spangled banner of the United States of America. — Jules Verne

The first year was weird. I knew I was just there to talk to pitchers and not step on any toes. I could feel my adrenaline start to flow in about the sixth inning. I had to tell myself, "What the hell are you getting excited about? You're not going anywere, big boy. Just go sign some autographs." I was still programmed. — Goose Gossage

Here's the pitch. Mantle swings. There's a tremendous drive going into deep left field! It's going, going! It's over the bleachers ... over the sign atop the bleachers ... into the yards of houses across the street! It's got to be one of the longest runs I've ever seen! How about that! — Mel Allen

We were mighty short of infielders in those days — Lou Gehrig

I don't know. How hot is it supposed to be? — Yogi Berra

Every time I see him, he's not there. — Yogi Berra

For Mantle, the Yankees' locker room was a sanctuary, a safe haven where he was understood, accepted and, when necessary, exonerated. — Jane Leavy

If you can remember all the accessories that go with your best outfit, the contents of your purse, the starting lineup of the New York Yankees or the Houston Oilers, or what label "Hang On Sloopy" by The McCoys was on, you are capable of remembering the differences between a gerund (verb form used as a noun) and a participle (verb form used as an adjective). — Stephen King

A tough but nervous, tenacious but restless race [the Yankees]; materially ambitious, yet prone to introspection, and subject to waves of religious emotion ... A race whose typical member is eternally torn between a passion for righteousness and a desire to get on in the world. — Samuel Eliot Morison

Disagreeing with the fervent patriotism of the Confederates: "I think it's hard winning a war with words, gentlemen ... I'm saying very plainly that the Yankees are better equipped than we ... All we've got is cotton and slaves, and arrogance." "I seem to be spoiling everybody's brandy and cigars and dreams of victory." — Clark Gable

As a player, to me the Dodgers were the Yankees of the National League because ... you either loved them or you hated them. — Joe Torre

I've played for teams that were family-oriented organizations. They made you feel like family. The Yankees are strictly a business. Baseball is your life and everything else is secondary. — Gary Sheffield

Everybody says we hated the Yankees. We didn't hate the Yankees. We just hated the way they beat us. — Al Lopez

I liked George Weiss when he was with the Yankees. He loved the Old Timers' Day. He loved it. And he invited all these people to come, all these players to come. — Yogi Berra

What the hell is wrong with him now? — Yogi Berra

As you know, there were lots of huge marches around the country yesterday to protest the immigration laws. The marches had quite an impact on businesses. Restaurants had to close, construction sites had to shut down, the Yankees had to forfeit a game ... Do you realize that Americans are now doing the jobs that immigrants won't do because they're out protesting? — Jay Leno

I am a Yankees fan. I should say - have been to more Yankees games than Mets games. — Harold Ford Jr.

For my books of nonfiction I write about subjects I find fascinating. I've been a Yankees and a Lou Gehrig fan for decades, so I wrote 'Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man.' It's more the story of his great courage than of his baseball playing. Children face all sorts of challenges, and it's my hope that some will be inspired by the courage of Lou Gehrig. — David A. Adler

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 Yankees are only interested in one thing, and I have no idea what that is. — Luis Polonia

I love Jane [Krakowski]. Jane's been a dear friend for maybe a dozen years. We've worked together on many shows and concerts and readings. We did Damn Yankees together and then we did Xanadu. Jane did all the workshops of Xanadu before it moved to Broadway. She's hysterical and our voices blended. We had a similar sensibility. — Cheyenne Jackson

There's always some youngster coming up- they'll find somebody. — Joe DiMaggio

Apparently she was beyond words so she pushed the card into his hands. He looked down. Blinked. Blinked again before stumbling back into a chair. Did he just wet himself? Ah, who cared? He was holding four tickets to the Yankees vs. Red Sox at Yankee Stadium for this Friday and they were without a doubt the best seats in the stadium.
His eyes shifted from Haley to the tickets and back again before he made a split second decision and made a run for it. He didn't make it five feet before his little grasshopper tackled him to the ground and ripped the card from his hands.
He spit grass out of his mouth. "Fine. You can come with me I guess," he said, earning a knee to the ribs. — R.L. Mathewson

Jared was her son and the "co-general manager" of the Yankees - co meaning shares the title with someone who knows what he's doing because he got the job through nepotism. — Harlan Coben

True Yankees are born, not made. — Jay Mohr

Uncle Wiggens ain't really my uncle, everyone just calls him that. He's over eighty and fought in the War Between the States. He only has one leg and one hero, General Robert E. Lee. Uncle Wiggens manages to work Lee's name into pretty much any old conversation. You might say, 'My, it's cold today,' and he'd reply, 'You think this is cold? General Lee said it didn't even qualify as chill till your breath froze on your nose and made a little icicle.' He had about five different stories of how he lost his leg, every one of them entertaining.
That night I was listening to the version that involved him running five Yankees into a bear's den. — Kristin Levine

The reason I'm a Yankee is that George Steinbrenner out hustled everybody else. — Reggie Jackson

You know, the other day I gave all of my old Angels gear to Goodwill ... and Goodwill gave it back. — Chili Davis

I loved the opportunity to play for the Yankees, too. — Bert Campaneris

If anybody needs me, I'm in my room being embalmed. — Casey Stengel

Yankees in Georgia! How did they ever get in? — Margaret Mitchell

We are the New York Yankees — George Steinbrenner

Algernon is a pleasant companion. At mealtimes, he takes his place at the small gateleg table. He likes pretzels, and today he took a sip of beer while we watched the ballgame on TV. I think he rooted for the Yankees. — Daniel Keyes

I'm more concerned about members of Congress being drug-free than I am about members of the Yankees or Giants. — Pat Sajak

I would have to say that because I've lived in so many cities, by no means do I feel it's fair to call myself a 'fan' of any particular teams. I've lived in New York for a long time, and I did this movie about the Yankees called '*61.' I found out a lot about the Yankees during that time, so I love the Yankees, I've watched the Yankees. — Chris Bauer

I won't be active in the day-to-day operations of the ball club at all. — George Steinbrenner

Wall Street bankers supposedly back the Yankees; Smith College girls approve of them. God, Brooks Brothers, and United States Steel are believed to be solidly in the Yankees' corner ... The efficiently triumphant Yankee maching is a great institution, but, as they say, who can fall in love with U.S. Steel? — Gay Talese

Them up when the other team had a runner on third. By the time the Yankees came to town - this was going on to the end of April - the whole stadium would flush orange when the Bombers had a runner on third, which they did often in that series. Because the Yankees kicked the living shit out of us and took over first place. It was no fault of the kid's; he hit in every game and tagged out Bill Skowron between home and third when the lug got caught in a rundown. — Stephen King

It was a death struggle every day being a Yankee you either won or you lost. There was no second place. Half of us were nuts by the end of a season. — Jerry Coleman

Mr. Lincoln, the merciful and just, who cries large tears over Mrs. Bixby's five boys, hasn't any tears to shed about the thousands of Yankees dying at Andersonville," said Rhett, his mouth twisting. "He doesn't care if they all die. The order is out. No exchanges. — Margaret Mitchell

Hold on to your own ideal ... Above all, never attempt to guide or rule others, or, as the Yankees say, "boss" others. Be the servant of all. — Swami Vivekananda

At a book festival in Fort Lauderdale, I met David Eisenhower, Ike's grandson, who was promoting his book 'Going Home to Glory: A Memoir of Life with Dwight D. Eisenhower,' in which he describes attending the Yankees' 154th game in 1961. The whole family had been following Mantle and Maris chase Babe Ruth's home run record across the country. — Jane Leavy

I don't want to change. I haven't done it before, I won't do it now. — Alfonso Soriano

To get a better piece of chicken, you'd have to be a rooster. — Mickey Mantle

I don't have hate in my heart. I don't hate any person, place or thing ... but I hate the Yankees. — Michael Chiklis

In the 1970s, professional sports found a different breed of team owner in George Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees. — Don Yaeger

YANKEE, n. In Europe, an American. In the Northern States of our Union, a New Englander. In the Southern States the word is unknown. — Ambrose Bierce

To join Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys was like throwing a baseball around in your front yard and somebody coming over and signing you to play for the New York Yankees. — Johnny Gimble

Big Papi placed among the top five in Most Valuable Player balloting during his first five seasons with the Red Sox. His best finish in that span was second place in 2005, just losing out to Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees. It was A-Rod, however, who suggested he'd gladly trade his hardware for the ring Ortiz won in 2004. A-Rod got the hardware for MVP again in 2007, but it was Ortiz who got another ring. — Tucker Elliot

In 1922 everything changed again. The Eskimo pie was invented; James Joyce's Ulysses was printed in Paris; snow fell on Mauna Loa, Hawaii; Babe Ruth signed a three-year contract with the New York Yankees; Eugene O'Neill was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Frederick Douglass's home was dedicated as a national shrine; former heavyweight champion of the world Jack Johnson invented the wrench ... — Bernice L. McFadden

Perry would disown me for wearing a Yankees sweatshirt, but he would never know, and I was too cold to care about team loyalty. — Kim Harrington

The Greatest Living Yankee is Whitey Ford, who came out of Aviation High School, which was then in Manhattan, and helped pitch the Yankees to victory in the 1950 World Series when he was 21. — George Vecsey

Only triple I ever got. — Lefty Gomez

It was the first time I used that bat. A Yankee fan in Chicago gave it to me the last time we were there and said it would bring me luck. There's no brand name on it or anything. Maybe the guy made it himself. It had been in the bat rack, and I picked it up by mistake because it looked like the bat I had been using the last few days. — Graig Nettles

I don't care what the situation was, how high the stakes were - the bases could be loaded and the pennant riding on every pitch, it never bothered Whitey. He pitched his game. Cool. Craft. Nerves of steel. — Mickey Mantle

Just like every other kid in my grade school, I was listening to my little radio plug in my ear when Mickey Mantle hit 18 post-season homers and won series after series for the Yankees. I listened and I learned from that. I think he was the original 'Mr. October,' but thank god it didn't stick. — Reggie Jackson

After all, a district judge who gives harsh sentences to Yankees fans and lenient sentences to Red Sox fans would not be acting reasonably even if her procedural rulings were impeccable. — John Paul Stevens

I want players to look neat and responsible. Maybe it's old school, but it's kind of neat when people are always clean. — Joe Girardi

They should have come out of the dugout on tippy-toes, holding hands and singing. — Mickey Mantle

So many ideas come to you and you want to try them all, but you can't. You're like a mosquito in a nudist colony, you don't know where to start. — Reggie Jackson

Irabu is a fat, pus-y toad. — George Steinbrenner

It's not good or bad, but closers have changed things. I don't think you are going to win a World Series without one. Where would the Yankees be without Mariano Rivera? — Bruce Sutter

At nighttime, you just try to keep him out of jail. — David Cone

We all pulled together at the right time, unfortunately, we were down 3-0 to the Yankees when we decided to do it, but we did it. And we shocked the world. — Johnny Damon

There's nobody on my ball club that doesn't go from first to third on a base hit, or from second to home. Every time you steal a base, you're taking a gamble on getting thrown out, and taking the bat out of the hitter's hand. — Casey Stengel

She didn't care to be reminded how starved she looked, but she could hardly bemoan the fact. It had lent well to her disguise. Though seventeen, she had masqueraded as a stripling lad beneath the very noses of the Yankees. Captain Latimer had not even been suspicious. — Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

When she was too young to resist, or even to understand, I turned my daughter into a lifelong, rabid Yankees fan. — Gene Weingarten

My first and foremost goal when I joined the Yankees was to win the world championship. Certainly, it's been a long road and very difficult journey. But I'm just happy that after all these years we were able to win and reach the goal that I had come here for. — Hideki Matsui

Do not tell me you're a Yankees fan," V drawled. "I'll have to kill you, and frankly, tonight we need all the wingmen we've got. — J.R. Ward

He says all the right things, like it's Jeter's team. I want to correct him on that - it's my team. — George Steinbrenner

Derek Jeter has been a great representative of what the Yankees have stood for over the years. He has been a team player who has only cared about winning. He has also been a fine example both on and off the field over his long tenure as a Yankee. It has been a real pleasure to manage him and play alongside him. — Joe Girardi

A guy is sitting in a bar getting bored, looking to strike up a conversation. He turns to the bartender and says, "Hey, about those Democrats in Congress..." "STOP pal - I don't allow talk about politics in my bar!" interrupted the bartender. A few minutes later the guy tries again: "You know what some people say about the pope?" "NO religion talk, either," the bartender cuts in. One more try to break the boredom: "This year, I really thought the Yankees would..." "NO sports talk. That's how fights start in bars!" the barman says. "Look, how about sex. Can I talk to you about sex?" "Sure, that we can talk about any time," replies the barkeep. "GREAT... GO FUCK YOURSELF! — Barry Dougherty

Sometimes the hitter get a hit, sometimes I strike them out, but in niether case does anyone die. — Orlando Hernandez

I don't ask for much. I don't ask to be rich, and I don't ask to be famous, and I don't ask to play center field for the New York Yankees. I just want to get married and have a wife, and a house, and I want to have a kid, and I want to go see him be a tooth in the school play! — Tom Hanks

A lot of pitchers today are afraid of the ball. Warren Spahn pinch-hit for me when I was a rookie. He hit a sacrifice fly. I couldn't argue. I was 20 years old and just happy to be in the big leagues. And Spahnnie was a good hitter. — Joe Torre

Why, I've seen Kentuckians who hated whiskey, Virginians who weren't descended from Pocahontas, Indianians who hadn't written a novel, Mexicans who didn't wear velvet trousers with silver dollars sewed along the seams, funny Englishmen, spendthrift Yankees, cold-blooded Southerners, narrow- minded Westerners, and New Yorkers who were too busy to stop for an hour on the street to watch a one-armed grocer's clerk do up cranberries in paper bags. Let a man be a man and don't handicap him with the label of any section. — O. Henry

To wind up in Cooperstown is surreal for me. To go into the Hall of Fame is one thing. When you think of all the other Yankees that are in here, it's pretty special. This is just a shrine. To visit it, much less be inducted, it's still sort of unbelievable to me. — Joe Torre

Telling Mom was one thing. Telling Dad is another.
He's in the living room smoking and watching what he claims is a very important Yankees game. It's in the ninth inning and the teams are tied. I consider backing out, maybe waiting another week or so, but maybe he won't actually care when I tell him. Maybe all that stuff he said when I was younger, about never acting like a girl or playing with any female action figures, will go away once he realizes I am the way I am without any choice. Maybe he'll accept me.
Mom follows me into the living room and sits down on Eric's bed. "Mark, do you have a minute? Aaron has something he wants to talk about."
He exhales cigarette smoke. "I'm listening." He never looks away from the game. — Adam Silvera

You gotta call a blacksmith. — Yogi Berra

I take a lot of pride in playing for the Yankees, and trying to do things the right way. — Brett Gardner

Eventually my dad got home from work and set his briefcase down.
'So. How was practice?' he asked
'It was good. Why? Did you hear it wasn't?' I said, trying to keep my cool.
'Son, no offense, but you play Little League. It's not the Yankees. I don't get daily reports about who's hitting the shit out of the ball — Justin Halpern

The Yankees, the first mechanicians in the world, are engineers - just as the Italians are musicians and the Germans metaphysicians - by right of birth. Nothing is more natural, therefore, than to perceive them applying their audacious ingenuity to the science of gunnery. — Jules Verne