July 1, 2002

The Week in Quotes

June 24-30, 2002

by Derek Zumsteg

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STRIKE! STRIKE!

"If you have kids who might [grow up to] be major league baseball players, we're fighting for your kids, possibly. If I work for your newspaper and you're in the union fighting for your equality and rights, sure I would strike, and so would you..." 
--Barry Bonds, Giants outfielder

"It's not my fault you don't play baseball. It's not our fault you're not an actor or Bill Gates or anybody else. Nobody is complaining about their salaries, or the owners' salaries. So don't complain about ours. We have the right to make it." 
--Bonds

"It's entertainment. It will come back. A lot of companies go on strike, not just baseball. And people still ride the bus." 
--Bonds

FIGHT! FIGHT!

"If I would have hit him with one of my hands, we'd be in the hospital, both of us, because I'd be in there getting a cast on my hand and he'd be in there for his broken face." 
--Brett Myers, Phillies pitching farmhand, on Yankee farmhand Drew Henson

"That's how you're supposed to play the game." 
--Larry Bowa, Phillies manager, on the beanball exchanges and fights

"Usually this happens on good teams. Bad teams always get along." 
--Dusty Baker, Giants manager, on the Bonds v. Kent v. Baker shoving incident

TESTIFY

"I would rather [Lee] had a .280 batting average and have a high on-base percentage than hit .300 and be susceptible to anything they throw up there." 
--Jerry Manuel, White Sox manager, on outfielder Carlos Lee

"Batting average is the most overrated stat in baseball. On-base percentage is the best stat." 
--Jerry Narron, Rangers manager

"I knew that, sooner or later, the team would do something. Personally, I was surprised to merit a spot on the team this spring." 
--Lee Stevens, former Expos infielder

HUMOR IN BASEBALL

"[The Phillies] are the best last-place team in the league." 
--Mike Schmidt, Phillies hitting instructor

"It's easy to say that when you're not around the team every day." 
--Larry Bowa, Phillies manager

"I'm at the point of putting life jackets on them when they get into the whirlpool." 
--Russ Miller, Tigers trainer, on the injuries that have plagued the team

"They play like an NL team out there. They're up there hacking away." 
--Shawon Dunston, Giants outfielder, after an A's-Giants game

THE REST

"I do strike out a lot because I get in deep counts." 
--Jeremy Giambi, Phillies outfielder

"They always deal from a lot of leverage. You aren't going to get one of their top guys for a middle man or a setup man, so I didn't deal with them as much as Boston." 
--Kevin Towers, Padres GM, on negotiating with the Yankees in the Alan Embree trade

"I'm not basing my life completely around it. If I don't go, I'll be on my back porch. The beer is going to go down smooth and the barbecue is going to taste good." 
--Johnny Damon, Red Sox outfielder, on possibly not making the All Star team

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.