April 8, 2002

The Week in Quotes

April 1-7

by Derek Zumsteg

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DISCREPANCY

"It's the same information the Blue Ribbon Committee has worked off of and the players' association has, everybody has. It's very disappointing and just plain wrong. It's one thing to be wrong and it's another thing to know when you do it that you're wrong and you just go ahead and do it anyway. I find that hard to believe."
--Bud Selig, commissioner of baseball, on Forbes magazine's calculations that baseball made $75 million in profit, rather than the $232 million in losses Selig testified to before Congress

"There is no way. Those numbers are fiction, they are pure fiction."
--Selig

"A few teams are struggling. But baseball as an industry is in strong financial shape."
--Mike Ozanian, Forbes senior editor

"For many of the other numbers, we relied on those supplied by major league baseball and those supplied by bankers and professional consultants familiar with teams' finances. And we came to major league baseball's office at their request and found that our revenue numbers were very close to what they had. The big difference was on the expense side."
--Ozanian, on where Forbes was able to get information besides public filings

"We adjusted our expenses based on their numbers, but we couldn't take all of them at face value."
--Ozanian

"We found that simply not to be the case when we checked with other people inside baseball."
--Ozanian, on MLB's claims that all teams ran their farm systems at a loss

"Gee, should I believe a magazine that spends 365 days a year researching finances? Or a guy who has zero credibility?"
--Denny Hocking, Twins outfielder and Players Association representative

ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER SET OF QUOTES ABOUT WALKS

"To think about walking, that's not a good attitude to step into the batter's box with. It's more a situation that comes up and if the count dictates it, maybe that will enter your mind. But you can't ever think of a walk as being a goal because if a teacher throws all strikes, you would never get a walk. There is no way I can control the number of walks I get. Of course, if I would get more walks and it would help the team, it would be a good thing but that's not even in my mind yet."
--Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners outfielder

"I'm going to walk at least 40 times this year."
--Shea Hillenbrand, Red Sox infielder

"That takes the aggressiveness out of the hitter. I think you need to work the count. You have to be aware of the pitches you can handle. Look in your zone and get a good aggressive swing. The walks will come if you know what pitch you can handle."
--Greg Gross, Phillies hitting coach, on walking

"You have to play your game, and my game is to be an aggressive hitter. I want to hit balls that are in my zone and not just the strike zone. You have to learn your zone. I can't get away from my zone."
--Doug Glanville, Phillies outfielder

THE REST

"If I was Shannon Stewart, I've got to think of taking a pop at him or something."
--Buck Martinez, Blue Jays manager, on hearing that Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez had walked through the Jays' clubhouse

"I don't know. I've never been an ESPN analyst."
--Grady Little, Red Sox manager, asked if Martinez had overreacted

"Telling someone else how to spend their money, that's rude, rude behavior. My mom taught me that."
--Hocking, on Bud Selig's recent comments on the Royals requiring improvements to their stadium

"Not everybody has the luxury of getting a bill past the legislature like Bud did, and what did it take him, 20 years?"
--Hocking

"When we win, we think people are going to show up."
--Mark Gorris, Royals senior vice president for business operations

"We like him because he's what you call a tools player. He's got a plus arm, he's a plus runner, he's got plus power. We'll turn him over to Dr. Crow [hitting coach Terry Crowley] and let him work his magic."
--Syd Thrift, Orioles vice president for baseball operations, on trading for outfielder Gary Matthews Jr.

"Instead of one or two guys looking like idiots, now we'll all look like idiots."
--John Flaherty, Devil Rays catcher, on manager Hal McRae's requirement that all players show at least four inches of sock

If you would like to submit a quote, please email Derek and be sure to include both the quote itself and a URL pointing to the quote.