Image:
psacard.com.
BASEBALL QUOTES OF 2009.
"Somehow
Dick Allen got out of the way of that ball. His helmet went straight up and his head went straight down, and the ball went between his helmet and his head. Dick got up, and he has his glasses on, and he didn't do anything. He acted like nothing happened, really. The next pitch [Pete] Broberg threw, he hit the ball to dead center field in the upper deck like there was nothing to it. He just went around the bases and back into the dugout, and I said to myself, 'There goes a man right there.'"
—
Toby Harrah, May 2009
.
"I had given up a walk and a hit to the first couple of guys before I got the next three hitters out and [a reporter] asked me, 'So, what happened with those first two guys?' I said, 'Well, the first guy walked on four pitches, and I think the second guy got a hit.' Then you kind of see a smile come on their face and they're like, 'Is that it?' and I say, 'Yeah, that's what happened.'"
—
Justin Masterson, January 2009
.
"I was in winter ball for a lot of years, and I saw the way they grew up and the backgrounds that they have. I more or less understand that, yeah, they can be a little bit temperamental, but hey, there are a lot of gringos that can be the same way."
—
Dick Pole, March 2009
.
"I've seen guys warm up over the last umpteen years and maybe not have their sharpest stuff in the pen, but the pen really means nothing. What happens from the pen to between the white lines is a transformation."
—Gary Tuck, April 2009
.
"Right about then it dawned on me, 'Oh yeah, he's probably going to send a message.' Well, that message went across the tip of my nose! To this day I can still feel that ball grazing off the end of my nose. He knocked me right on my ass. But I respected it. He wasn't trying to kill me; he was just trying to send a message."
—
Rob Deer, April 2009
.
"I'd had a bad outing, and my daughter ran out and she goes, 'Hey Dad! Did you see Billy the Marlin?' I was kind of over my outing then, because all she really cared about was that I was home and got to see Billy the Marlin.”
—
Joe Nelson, April 2009
.
"These hitters are doing a lot of stuff that you have to keep up with. It's just like technology, man; technology keeps getting better and better, and so does the hitting."
—
James Shields, April 2009
.
"
Bill Rigney was the manager, and he came out with kind of a smile on his face. He said, 'Welcome to the big leagues, son. That probably will not be the last home run that you give up.' And he was right."
—Bert Blyleven, May 2009
.
"The catcher called for a changeup, and I was 19, and he hits it off the foul pole in Baltimore for a home run. Later I threw him about a 97 mph fastball down and away, and he hit it into right field for a single, and I realized that
Al Kaline may be better than I was."
—
Jim Palmer, May 2009
.
"He said, 'Cody, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that you're not with us anymore. The good news is that I just traded you to the
Florida Marlins.' I was like, 'Yes!' I said that: 'Yes! Thank you!' I was hoping that I didn't sound too excited."
—
Cody Ross, July 2009
.
"What I have to say about flair is that it’s more, like, emotional than anything. It’s just showing emotion and showing how much fun you’re having in the game. I don’t think it’s, 'Oh yeah, I just want to look pretty out there.'"
—
Lastings Milledge, August 2009
.
"You look for a fastball up; you look for something that you can hit. Like [former Louisiana State University baseball coach] Skip Bertman said in college, 'You sit for the express, and adjust for the rest.'"
—
Aaron Hill, October 2009
.
"When I walked into the clubhouse, I looked over at
Bill Fischer’s locker, he was the pitching coach, and I saw the radar gun. It had about an inch-thick coat of dust on it, and I thought, 'This is my kind of place.'"
—
Mike Boddicker, November 2009
.
"Anything you'd ever want to know about me is probably on somebody's blog or on the internet somewhere."
—
Billy Wagner, December 2009
.
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