Don't play for one run unless you know that run will win a ballgame.
A manager should stay as far away as possible from his players. I don't know if I said ten words to Frank Robinson while he played for me.
You must remember that anyone under 30 - especially a ballplayer - is an adolescent. I never got close to being an adult until I was 32. Even though I was married and had a son at 20, I was a kid at 32, living at home with my parents. Sure, I was a manager then. That doesn't mean you're grown up.
If an umpire misses a called third strike and the other side ends up scoring because of it, I'm not going to forget it. If there are runners on second and third and two out, and if the umpire has just given the hitter an extra strike and the next pitch goes into the hole and both runs score, I've got to say something to the guy.
Don't worry, the fans don't start booing until July.
I really don't like confrontations. One of the reasons I'm retiring is that I'm tired of hurting people's feelings.
I think the National League has better biorhythms in July.
I stand by my belief that individual performances are the most important part of baseball.
In my mind, the home run is paramount because it means instant runs.
A manager has to convince his hitters that they have to get on base for the next guy and that no player can do it by himself. Sometimes that isn't easy. In the playoffs, you can get into trouble because everybody wants to be a hero.
The worst thing about being on the road is all you want to do when you get home is to stay home, but as soon as you get back, all the wife wants to do is go out because she's been stuck home all the time you've been stuck on the road.
Judging ballplayers and turning in reports, giving my opinion of who will get to the big leagues and who will not... I think my baseball judgment was really good.
Until you're the person that other people fall back on, until you're the one that's leaned on, not the person doing the leaning, you're not an adult.
The only thing that matters is what happens on the little hump out in the middle of the field.
If you want to steal a base, steal a base. Don't make the hitter swing at a bad pitch trying to protect the runner.
What else does a manager do but push buttons? He doesn't hit, he doesn't run, he doesn't throw, and he doesn't catch the ball. A manager has twenty-five players, or twenty-five buttons, and he selects which one he'll use, or push, that day. The manager who presses the right buttons most often is the one who wins the most games.
I used to be a pretty good hit-and-run man when I played in the minors. I handled the bat well and could hit the ball to the right side of the infield. Nevertheless, I know that you often give the opposition an out on the hit-and-run play.
A manager's job is simple. For one hundred sixty-two games you try not to screw up all that smart stuff your organization did last December.
Coaches are an integral part of any manager's team, especially if they are good pinochle players.
I think there should be bad blood between all clubs.
