Frank Robinson Quotes

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

You have to have a short memory as a closer.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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