Frank Robinson

You have to have a short memory as a closer. ”

I've never seen baseball advertise for a job, and I've never heard of whites applying for a job. I mean, there's an old boy network, and it's lily white. ”

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

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. ”

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

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. ”

During the years I was still playing, I would go to Puerto Rico in the winter and manage. When the day came, I had the experience without having to go to the minor leagues for four or five years and then wait for an opportunity. Still, there's a double standard. Some whites, like Pete Rose, Joe Torre and Ted Williams, never had to go to the minors. ”

As a black, you find you have to be two or three times better than a white even to play. And when it comes to front-office jobs, management believes you'll never be as good. ”

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

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. ”