Tony La Russa Quotes

#1. Being involved in competition is a privilege and an opportunity. Seek to make the most of that opportunity by pushing yourself to the limit of your abilities. When it is over, you will have earned the respect of your opponents, your coaches, and yourself. - Author: Tony La Russa

#2. Toughest thing for me as a young manager is that a lot of my players saw me play. They know how bad I was. - Author: Tony La Russa

#3. To me, there is no more conscientious umpire in the Major Leagues than Jim Joyce. He gives you a hellacious effort every time. - Author: Tony La Russa

#4. Losing sucks. I don't think most people understand how bad it feels. - Author: Tony La Russa

#5. If you seriously aspire to be a manager in the big leagues, there is a baseball 'book' that one must learn. Alongside that book, you must practice Spanish. Of 25 players on each roster, sometimes there are between eight and 15 players who speak Spanish. - Author: Tony La Russa

#6. It's easy to figure out whether you're getting stale. All you've got to do is look in the mirror and be honest with yourself. - Author: Tony La Russa

#7. I think each negotiation should be based on what's the best decision - taking everything into account, not taking one thing into account. - Author: Tony La Russa

#8. If you're a coach, and you don't have trust with players, you've got no chance, and your credibility is zero. And that's why it's so important to tell them the truth. If you have something that you're upset about, tell them the truth. If they're doing something wrong, tell them the truth. - Author: Tony La Russa

#9. We're all men, not machines. We make mistakes. - Author: Tony La Russa

#10. Anything that disturbs your comfort factor is good for you. - Author: Tony La Russa

#11. The thing I learned when I was playing was that your best way of winning was to make it difficult for the other team to score in the last three innings. - Author: Tony La Russa

#12. The game has never seen a better catcher than YADIER MOLINA. - Author: Tony La Russa

#13. There are always distractions, if you allow them. - Author: Tony La Russa

#14. I'm a great believer in the character of a club. To me, character has a lot to do with how you compete. That creates urgency and toughness. That elevates the talent that you have. - Author: Tony La Russa

#15. It's a really neat and special coincidence, but it's nothing but a coincidence. This wasn't set up to give Matt that honor. It's just the way it worked out. It's a neat extra. - Author: Tony La Russa

#16. My wife and I, we started a foundation about companion animal rescue, but there's a group called Performing Animal Welfare Society just outside of Sacramento ... and they offered me a job as an elephant keeper. - Author: Tony La Russa

#17. I have coaching friends, and when we get together, we often talk more about what we're doing to get players' attention than we do about the fascinating X's and O's of our sport. - Author: Tony La Russa

#18. I've been so fortunate in life to have worked for such great organizations, with great owners and general managers and all the great players, along with the support of my family. - Author: Tony La Russa

#19. If you try to give them a scheme, most hitters will rebel. - Author: Tony La Russa

#20. Play the game right. If you play the game intelligently and execute the fundamentals, you can win. - Author: Tony La Russa

#21. You can be stupid once, but idiotic to do it again. I'll settle for being stupid - Author: Tony La Russa

#22. I'm careful not to give into theatrics when times are tough, I don't like it when somebody gives into outside pressure and puts on a show for others. - Author: Tony La Russa

#23. I'm ready to do something different. - Author: Tony La Russa

#24. You know, I think when you coach or you manage, you make decisions, and there's some that are really, really tough. - Author: Tony La Russa

#25. I had started law school at Florida State University as a part-timer. I would go two quarters, and they allowed me to drop out to play baseball, and then I'd get readmitted in September. I was convinced I was going to be a lawyer and was using my baseball salary to pay my way through school. - Author: Tony La Russa

#26. It's like most anything. If you want to be a loser, there's always a way to dwell on the negative. If you want to win, there's always a way to think positively. - Author: Tony La Russa

#27. If the national government doesn't fix your problem, you've got a problem. You've got to fix it yourself. That's just part of the American way. - Author: Tony La Russa

#28. My mind is just a product of 50 years of being taught. I'm no smarter than anyone else, but I've been taught by some wonderful people. - Author: Tony La Russa

#29. I think the guys that get to the All-Star Game deserve a lot of credit. They deserve their opportunity to get out there and let the baseball fandom see them. - Author: Tony La Russa

#30. The arc of Ken Griffey Jr.'s swing has gotten bigger than when he hit line drives. Juan Gonzalez is a terrific power hitter, too. - Author: Tony La Russa

#31. If you watch the history of baseball, teams come back, and sometimes they could have come back, but they give in or give up. - Author: Tony La Russa

#32. I've said this: If Jim Leyland had been in my place, he'd have the 2,000 wins and I'd have 1,000. Leyland is the greatest. - Author: Tony La Russa

#33. I think there's a growing number of pitchers who want to have a plan going into a game about how they're going to go after that lineup. I'd say 75 percent want to have an idea, and they plan their attack. I know that 75 percent of hitters do not have that same type of plan against a pitcher. - Author: Tony La Russa

#34. Pressure comes when someone calls on you to perform a task for which you are unprepared. - Author: Tony La Russa

#35. You can't manage by memo. You can't stand up there and just send out edicts. I think you just gotta really personalize your relationships. - Author: Tony La Russa

#36. You can't put a price on what Mark McGwire brings to the Cardinals organization. The responsibility he accepts is as great as any number of home runs. - Author: Tony La Russa

#37. I'm not going to manage again. I'm going to work for a team someday. But it won't be managing. - Author: Tony La Russa

#38. The best way to win is to play well early or late in the game. The middle part tends to take care of itself. - Author: Tony La Russa

#39. I don't miss being in the dugout - I'll make that clear. - Author: Tony La Russa

#40. I'm very distressed that the report was leaked early so that the initial headline said 'dismissed, fired.' That's 180 degrees from the arrangement we have potentially. - Author: Tony La Russa

#41. It's a sensitive thing, playing major league baseball. - Author: Tony La Russa

#42. There's a bigger difference now than when I first got into professional baseball because that was before guaranteed contracts, before there was a lot of money, so it was mostly survival. You had more competition. - Author: Tony La Russa

#43. Just because you're down to your last strike, you're not out yet. You can always do more. You'll always have more at-bats to take. That's true in baseball, in rescuing animals, and in life, generally. - Author: Tony La Russa

#44. We never quit trying. I know that's kind of corny, but the fact is we never quit trying. The dugout was alive even when we were behind. And sometimes it works. - Author: Tony La Russa

#45. In the end, as a manager or coach, you have to keep your heart pure and do your best as a manager or a coach. - Author: Tony La Russa

#46. I'm not a big 'Moneyball' fan. - Author: Tony La Russa

#47. Even when you have three strikes, you're still not out. There is always something else you can do. - Author: Tony La Russa