Sparky Anderson Quotations

People who live in the past generally are afraid to compete in the present. I've got my faults, but living in the past is not one of them. There's no future in it.

Casey knew his baseball. He only made it look like he was fooling around. He knew every move that was ever invented and some that we haven't even caught on to yet.

Just give me 25 guys on the last year of their contracts; I'll win a pennant every year.

The great thing about baseball is when you're done, you'll only tell your grandchildren the good things. If they ask me about 1989, I'll tell them I had amnesia.

Players have two things to do. Play and keep their mouths shut.

I only had a high school education and believe me, I had to cheat to get that.

Baseball is a simple game. If you have good players and if you keep them in the right frame of mind then the manager is a success.

The players make the manager, it's never the other way.

Success is the person who year after year reaches the highest limits in his field.

Me carrying a briefcase is like a hotdog wearing earrings.

The only reason I'm coming out here tomorrow is the schedule says I have to.

It's a terrible thing to have to tell your fans, who have waited like Detroit's have, that their team won't win it this year. But it's better than lying to them.

You give us the pitching some of these clubs have and no one could touch us, but God has a way of not arranging that, because it's not as much fun.

If I ever find a pitcher who has heat, a good curve, and a slider, I might seriously consider marrying him, or at least proposing.

They say the first World Series is the one you remember most. No, no no. I guarantee you don't remember that one because the fantasy world you always dreamed about is suddenly real.

I don't want to embarrass any other catcher by comparing him to Johnny Bench.

My idea of managing is giving the ball to Tom Seaver and sitting down and watching him work.

I understand people who boo us. It's like going to Broadway show, you pay for your tickets and expect to be entertained. When you're not, you have a right to complain.

The only thing I believe is this: A player does not have to like a manager and he does not have to respect a manager. All he has to do is obey the rules.

We're the best team in baseball, but not by much.

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?

I had Kirby Puckett in '88 in Japan. Kirby, I'll never forget, I asked him one day, 'Do you ever shut up?' and he said, 'No,' and I said, 'Well, keep talking.' He loved to talk.

We are the only two that ever talked all the way through batting practice. That is unheard of.

Why not give that guy a shot? He and Bobby are the only two that could.

You'd think he knew everybody. He made everybody feel like somebody.

I've been to the Hall many times, and I have seen this exhibit, but I still get a kick out of it every time. I still don't understand how someone like me could come out of South Dakota and end up with these great men. These men are baseball.

They're loyal Royal all the way. But, they're not tough fans, a player does not have to worry about being insulted there.

If I hear Bowie Kuhn say just once more he's doing something for the betterment of baseball, I'm going to throw-up.

He can. He's 60 years old. He's in very good shape as far as we all know, and in very good health.

You're gonna lose some ball games and you're gonna win some ball games and that's about it.

I'm beginning to see Brooks [Robinson] in my sleep. If I dropped a paper plate, he'd pick it up on one hop and throw me out at first.

Mike Laga will make you forget about every power hitter that ever lived.

The man I marvel at is the one that's in there day after day, and night after night and still puts the figures on the board. I'm talking about Pete Rose, Stan Musial, the real stars. Believe me, especially the way we travel today, flying all night with a game the next night and then the next afternoon, if you can play one-hundred and sixty-two games, you're a man.

The day I got a hit off (Sandy) Koufax was when he knew it was all over.

I hope the car they (Sport Magazine who awarded it to the World Series MVP) give him (Brooks Robinson) has an extra large glove box.

If you have to choose between power and speed and it often turns out you have to make that choice, you've got to go for speed.

Casey (Stengel) knew his baseball. He only made it look like he was fooling around. He knew every move that was ever invented and some that we haven't even caught on to yet.

He's (Jose Canseco) built like a Greek goddess.

He's (Willie Stargell) such a big strong guy he should love that porch. He's got power enough to hit home runs in any park, including Yellowstone.

Pete Rose is baseball.

Managing is not running, hitting, or stealing. Managing is getting your players to put out one hundred percent year after year.

Problem with (John) Wockenfuss getting on base is that it takes three doubles to score him.

A player does not have to like a manager and he does not have to respect a manager. All he has to do is obey the rules.

I managed 26 years and found out when I retired I didn't own the game. I thought I owned it when I was managing all those years. You can climb to the top of the mountain, get down on your knees and kiss the ground, because you'll never own that mountain. That mountain is only owned by one single person, and he'll never give it up. That's the way baseball is.

Chris Pittaro is the best rookie I've had in 15 years.

Our pitching could be better than I think it will be.

You can be whoever you want to be, you just have to want it bad enough.

If a team is in a positive frame of mind, it will have a good attitude. If it has a good attitude, it will make a commitment to playing the game right. If it plays the game right, it will win-unless, of course, it doesn't have enough talent to win, and no manager can make goose-liver pate out of goose feathers, so why worry?

I've changed my mind about it (DH) - instead of being bad, it stinks.

Explaining why he was forced to cut a utility player: You just got caught in a position where you have no position.

This game has taken a lot of guys over the years who would have had to work in factories and gas stations and made them prominent people. I only had a high school education, and believe me, I had to cheat to get that. There isn't a college in the world that would have me and yet in this business you can walk into a room with millionaires, doctors, professional people and get more attention than they get. I don't know any other business where you can do that.

A baseball manager is a necessary evil.

Good seasons start with good beginnings.

The trick is to realize that after giving your best, there's nothing more to give.

Am I a great manager? Huh. I was blessed to have a front office that found great talent, and then I was smart enough to stay the hell out of their way.

Baseball is a simple game. If you have good players, and you keep them in the right frame of mind, the manager is a success. The players make the manager. It's never the other way. Managing is not running, hitting, or stealing. Managing is getting your players to put out one hundred percent year after year. A player does not have to like a manager and he does not have to respect a manager. All he has to do is obey the rules. Talent is one thing. Being able to go from spring to October is another. You just got caught in a position where you have no position.

No manager ever won no ballgames.

Pete (Rose) doesn't run with celebrities and he can't stand the phonies. His big buddy in LA ain't Sinatra, it's a funny old groundskeeper.

Inner peace is not found in things like baseball and world championships. As long as I feel I've done the best job I possibly could, I'm satisfied.

I don't know why the players make such a big fuss about sitting in the first class section of the plane. Does that mean they'll get there faster?

Every 24 hours the world turns over on someone who was sitting on top of it.

I cannot get rid of the hurt from losing, but after the last out of every loss, I must accept that there will be a tomorrow. In fact, it's more than there'll be a tomorrow, it's that I want there to be a tomorrow. That's the big difference, I want tomorrow to come.

Success isn't something that just happens - success is learned, success is practiced and then it is shared.