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"A good professional athlete must have the love of a little boy and the good players feel the kind of love for the game that they did when they were little leaguers." Source: Hall of Fame Collection (Speech)
"Do you think it's easy to just walk up to Joe DiMaggio and start up a
conversation? I've been around him at old-timers' games, and believe me, he's
someone special. It's not easy to walk over and say, 'How ya doin', Joe, whaddya
say?' You really feel as though this is the one old-timer you have to call
Mister." Source: Tom Seaver's All-Time Baseball Greats (Seaver/Appel, 1984)
"God is living in New York, and he's a Mets fan." Source: Widely Attributed
"He had tremendous durability, never got up tight and, as I discovered, had a
great sense of humor. The first time I discovered that was at an All-Star
game. I was on the mound, and big Frank Howard came to bat, all six foot seven
inches and 255 lbs. of him - the same Frank Howard who later became my manager on
the Mets. Frank was a terrifying sight at the plate, hitting wicked line drives
down the third base line. As I stood on the mound to face him, I noticed my
third baseman, Tony Perez, had cautiously backed up into short left field. So
had the shortstop. I thought to myself, What am I supposed to do, standing just
60 feet away? I can't move back into a safe area! I knew I'd have to try and
throw him fastballs inside or he might kill somebody, probably me, with a liner.
I looked at Johnny Bench, my catcher, for a sign. I saw three fingers for a slow
change-up. Couldn't believe it. I looked again, and there were the three
fingers. I looked up through his mask and saw him laughing at me. So I started
laughing, too. Right there on the mound at the middle of an All-Star game!" Source: Tom Seaver's All-Time Baseball Greats (Seaver/Appel, 1984)
"He (Joe Morgan) knew when something needed to be done, and he'd do it." Source: Tom Seaver's All-Time Baseball Greats (Seaver/Appel, 1984)
"If the Mets can win the World Series, the United States can get out of Vietnam." Source: Baseball's Greatest Quotations by Paul Dickson (1991)
"If you don't think baseball is a big deal, don't do it. But if you do, do it right." Source: The Suitors of Spring by Pat Jordan (1973)
"In baseball, my theory is to strive for consistency, not to worry about the numbers. If you dwell on statistics you get shortsighted, if you aim for consistency, the numbers will be there at the end." Source: New York Times (01/11/1976)
"It's (baseball) on the radio and in the newspapers every day, the only game you can follow on that basis. From whatever arm's length you choose, it's always there."
"I wasn't ever much of a Yankee fan." Source: Tom Seaver's All-Time Baseball Greats (Seaver/Appel, 1984)
"Lou Brock, along with Maury Wills, are probably the two players most responsible for the biggest change in the game over the last fifteen years - the stolen base." Source: The McFarland Baseball Quotations Dictionary (2000)
"My job isn't to strike guys out, its to get them out, sometimes by striking them out." Source: New York Times (01/11/1976)
"No one had more impact on my career than Gil Hodges. Playing for him was a
learning experience, and he was a tower of strength. Not everbody liked him, but
everybody respected him. He went about his job in a very professional manner,
and it caused me to do the same with my job." Source: Tom Seaver's All-Time Baseball Greats (Seaver/Appel, 1984)
"Ted Williams may have been the purest hitter to ever play the game." Source: Tom Seaver's All-Time Baseball Greats (Seaver/Appel, 1984)
"The good rising fastball is the best pitch in baseball." Source: Complete Baseball Handbook by Walter Alston
"There are only two places in the league - first place and no place." Source: Widely Attributed
"Tug McGraw has got about forty-eight cards in his deck." Source: The McFarland Baseball Quotations Dictionary (2000)
"Yeah, but you forgot one thing (reply to fan who started telling him about his career accomplishments), I'm the only pitcher in the history of the Mets who's lost a ball game in the World Series."
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