Branch Rickey

I don't care if I was a ditch-digger at a dollar a day, I'd want to do my job better than the fellow next to me. I'd want to be the best at whatever I do. ”

Only in baseball can a team player be a pure individualist first and a team player second, within the rules and spirit of the game. ”

I find fault with my children because I like them and I want them to go places - uprightness and strength and courage and civil respect and anything that affects the probabilities of failure on the part of those that are closest to me, that concerns me - I find fault. ”

Thinking about the devil is worse than seeing the devil. ”

If things don't come easy, there is no premium on effort. There should be joy in the chase, zest in the pursuit. ”

All I had was natural ability. ”

Baseball people, and that includes myself, are slow to change and accept new ideas. I remember that it took years to persuade them to put numbers on uniforms. ”

Ethnic prejudice has no place in sports, and baseball must recognize that truth if it is to maintain stature as a national game. ”

How to use your leisure time is the biggest problem of a ballplayer. ”

Problems are the price you pay for progress. ”