Mike Ilitch Quotations

I am committed to spend what it takes.

When he told me about Jim, he was like a schoolboy.

What I like is our spread. You know, we're in manufacturing, we're in entertainment, we're in sports, we're in food. Did I say casinos?

He reminded me of Scotty when I met him for the first time last night, ... and the first words that came out of his mouth were: 'I'm going to do a good job for you.' I've never had anybody who I was introduced to immediately say that.

He said, 'I'll do a good job for you,' ... I've never had anyone be introduced to me and have that come so naturally from his mouth: 'I'll do a good job for you.'

I think I've proved that I can spend in sports. I've spent in sports. I just haven't had a chance to put a team together where I can respond accordingly.

When you get that one person, ... it can have a tremendous effect on an organization.

When we hired Scotty Bowman, everything changed. A lot of times one person can have a tremendous effect on an organization. You know, Jim addressed right away you've got to have all your veterans on board. Ironically, the first thing Scotty told me was getting your veterans on the same page. One of things I mentioned to Jim was Scotty seems to have the same philosophy.

I stepped into the Tigers situation with no farm system and no general manager, ... I had to work with scouts as GM's and not being connected in the sport. I'm not trying to make any alibis, but it's tough. I didn't make any good decisions on hiring.

I've said it over and over -- when you get that one guy, you can win. A lot of times, one person can have a tremendous effect on a team.

A successful season would be for the players to play up to their potential and have about three or four players exceed their potential. That would be a good year.

I'm running out of time with the Tigers -- we're in our 13th year. If we hit the 15-year mark, I'll be very concerned.

The Detroit Tigers were always No. 1 in our city. We used to just open the gates and people would come in. So I'm not happy with where we're at right now.