Quotes About Frank Robinson

#1. A manager should stay as far away as possible from his players. I don't know if I said ten words to Frank Robinson while he played for me.

Earl Weaver

#2. He (Frank Robinson
as Manager) can step on your shoes, but he doesn't mess up your shine.

Joe Morgan

#3. Baltimore was like a small town when I got there - the Colts, the Orioles, guys like Frank Robinson, we all knew and respected each other. Everyone would cross paths at one point at Lenny Moore's Sportsman's Lounge, trading stories and having some fun.

Earl Monroe

#4. I was also very lucky to be a teammate of two of the greatest players to have ever played the game. I learned very early on by playing for Frank Robinson and with Henry Aaron that even the greatest players in the game were just one of the guys.

Robin Yount

#5. I expect that [trying to do the best] of my players today and of my kids. My wife says I shouldn't expect that of my children, but I don't think that's asking too much.

Frank Robinson

#6. Whether you're trying to excel in athletics or in any other field, always practice. Look, listen, learn - and practice, practice, practice. There is no substitute for work, no shortcut to the top.

Frank Robinson

#7. If he can hit, he can hit. I don't care if he came from Class Z league.

Frank Robinson

#8. I always tried to do the best. I knew I couldn't always be the best, but I tried to be.

Frank Robinson

#9. Pitchers did me a favor when they knocked me down. It made me more determined. I wouldn't let that pitcher get me out. They say you can't hit if you're on your back, but I didn't hit on my back. I got up.

Frank Robinson

#10. A threat to kill is unreal--actual blood and shredded flesh has its own reality.

Frank M. Robinson

#11. Judging by the results so far, it had possibly been a bad idea to suggest a scientific approach to political problems, but on most days Frank was still glad they had tried it. Something had to be done. Although choosing which something remained a problem.

Kim Stanley Robinson

#12. Managers don't have as much leverage as they used to have. We can't really be the boss.

Frank Robinson

#13. The fan is the one who suffers. He cheers a guy to a .350 season then watches that player sign with another team. When you destroy fan loyalties, you destroy everything.

Frank Robinson

#14. Listen, I was the first black manager in baseball and there was incredible pressure. I don't blame anyone else. I was too tough ... I lack patience. I probably got on guys a little too hard, with the wrong tone of voice.

Frank Robinson

#15. You have to have a short memory as a closer.

Frank Robinson

#16. Close don't count in baseball. Close only counts in horseshoes and grenades.

Frank Robinson

#17. Be anything you want to be, but don't be dull.

Frank Robinson

#18. There's absolutely no way you can go barreling into second and dump a guy on a double play, like you should do, when you've been fraternizing with him before a game.

Frank Robinson

#19. But I'm not going to walk Barry Bonds, like some teams do, in the first inning with nobody on.

Frank Robinson

#20. I don't see why you reporters keep confusing Brooks (Robinson) and me. Can't you see that we wear different numbers.

Frank Robinson

#21. The way we're going ... if I called up another pitcher, he'd just hang up the phone on me.

Frank Robinson

#22. I don't think, in all the years I managed them, I ever spoke more than thirty words to Frank and Brooks Robinson.

Earl Weaver

#23. I had no trouble communicating, the player's just didn't like what I had to say.

Frank Robinson

#24. I just didn't have anything to say, so I said nothing.

Frank Robinson

#25. People come out to see the players. When do you see a manager anyway? When he's out on the field arguing with the umpires, making a fool of himself and you know you can't win, and when he brings out the line-up card.

Frank Robinson

#26. If the guys on the bench were as good as the guys you have out there, they'd be out there in first place.

Frank Robinson

#27. You just don't have faith!" Frank repeated.
"Well I hope I never get it! It's like being hit by a hammer in the head!

Kim Stanley Robinson

#28. No. 1, these guys out here on this field. They keep my energy level up. They try hard, they don't complain about things - and I'd just like to be with them when things are good, and hopefully we can win a pennant together.

Frank Robinson

#29. No, I don't think my presence will cause an increase in black attendance at Cleveland.

Frank Robinson

#30. This was what the universities were turning out nowadays. The science-is-a-sacred-cow boys. People who believe you could pour mankind into a test-tube and titrate it, and come up with all the answers to the problems of the human race.

Frank M. Robinson

#31. It's nice to come into a town and be referred to as the manager of the Cleveland Indians instead of as the first black manager.

Frank Robinson

#32. All in all, I wouldn't call it a bad outing. It was a short outing.

Frank Robinson

#33. I know a lot of people on the field - players, coaches, managers - are glad that I'm gone.

Frank Robinson

#34. The first boy said, "I bring you gold." The second boy said, "I bring you myrrh." The third boy said, "Frank sent this.

Ken Robinson

#35. At least when it's in French, I won't know what the heck they're saying.

Frank Robinson

#36. I haven't seen a player in this game, as long as I've been in it, that can't be pitched to ... Barry is an outstanding ballplayer. I respect him an awful lot. I also have confidence in my pitchers that they can pitch to Barry Bonds and get him out.

Frank Robinson