I have heard of managers who encourage players not to slide hard for fear they will get hurt and be lost from the lineup for a time. That is why you occasionally see a player go into second base on a double-play ball and not even bother to slide. I wonder, could Ty Cobb

Frank Robinson

Categorized in : Hurt Player Lunch

Close don't count in baseball. Close only counts in horseshoes and grenades.

Frank Robinson

horseshoes baseball sports

Be anything you want to be, but don't be dull.

Frank Robinson

want writing dull

Whether you're trying to excel in athletics or in any other field, always practice. Look, listen, learn - and practice, practice, practice. There is no substitute for work, no shortcut to the top.

Frank Robinson

basketball practice trying

Pitchers did me a favor when they knocked me down. It made me more determined. I wouldn't let that pitcher get me out. They say you can't hit if you're on your back, but I didn't hit on my back. I got up.

Frank Robinson

determined favors sports

I always tried to do the best. I knew I couldn't always be the best, but I tried to be.

Frank Robinson

do-the-best being-the-best sports

Listen, I was the first black manager in baseball and there was incredible pressure. I don't blame anyone else. I was too tough . . . I lack patience. I probably got on guys a little too hard, with the wrong tone of voice.

Frank Robinson

voice guy baseball

I haven't seen a player in this game, as long as I've been in it, that can't be pitched to... Barry is an outstanding ballplayer. I respect him an awful lot. I also have confidence in my pitchers that they can pitch to Barry Bonds and get him out.

Frank Robinson

confidence player sports

I don't see why you reporters keep confusing Brooks (Robinson) and me. Can't you see that we wear different numbers.

Frank Robinson

confusing different numbers

I had no trouble communicating, the player's just didn't like what I had to say.

Frank Robinson

communicate player trouble

The fan is the one who suffers. He cheers a guy to a .350 season then watches that player sign with another team. When you destroy fan loyalties, you destroy everything.

Frank Robinson

loyalty cheer sports

Probably the most dramatic change in pitching I've observed in my years in baseball has been the disappearance of the knockdown or brushback pitch. This is why record numbers of home runs are flying out of ballparks, why earned run averages are soaring, and why there are so few twenty game winners in the majors.

Frank Robinson

baseball home running

I expect that [trying to do the best] of my players today and of my kids. My wife says I shouldn't expect that of my children, but I don't think that's asking too much.

Frank Robinson

kids children thinking

I don't see anyone playing in the major leagues today (1982) who combines both the talent and the intensity that I had. I always tried to do the best. I knew I couldn't always be the best, but I tried to be.

Frank Robinson

talent league today

You have to have a short memory as a closer.

Frank Robinson

short-memory memories

But I'm not going to walk Barry Bonds, like some teams do, in the first inning with nobody on.

Frank Robinson

team ties sports

The way we're going... if I called up another pitcher, he'd just hang up the phone on me.

Frank Robinson

phones sports way

No. 1, these guys out here on this field. They keep my energy level up. They try hard, they don't complain about things - and I'd just like to be with them when things are good, and hopefully we can win a pennant together.

Frank Robinson

guy winning sports

The baselines belongs to the runner, and whenever I was running the bases, I always slid hard. I wanted infielders to have that instant's hesitation about coming across the bag at second or about standing in there awaiting a throw to make a tag. There are only 27 outs in a ballgame, and it was my job to save one for my team every time I possibly could.

Frank Robinson

team running jobs

Managers don't have as much leverage as they used to have. We can't really be the boss.

Frank Robinson

boss used sports

It's nice to come into a town and be referred to as the manager of the Cleveland Indians instead of as the first black manager.

Frank Robinson

black nice sports