Blue Jays Quotations, Globe and Mail, 1993

 

"Perhaps it's as simple as the law of gravity. What goes up must come down." - Neil A. Campbell on the chances of repeating their World Series triumph, Globe and Mail, Mar 1 1993

 

"If we'd kept everybody for this season, it would have added $10 million to $15 million to the payroll. That wasn't within our budget." - Cito Gaston (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, Mar 1 1993

 

"I'm not a bullpen pitcher, there's no way." - Dave Stieb, on why he signed with the Chisox (quoted by AP), Globe and Mail, Mar 1 1993

 

"I have always said New York's a place I'd like to play. I was a Yankee fan growing up." - Jimmy Key (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, Mar 2 1993

 

"It's easy to get complacent and I kind of felt I was missing something just being with one team." - Jimmy Key (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, Mar 2 1993

 

"I remember driving downtown on the freeway last fall, just before the playoffs started. It was a crystal-clear day and I saw the gleaming city skyline as I was driving in. I said to myself, 'This is a great city. We're going to win (the World Series) for this. - Dave Winfield (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, Mar 3 1993

 

"But we had a real unit there. We had a lot of special guys on that team and when you're so close to them it's hard to leave. Joe (Carter) and family, Devo (White) and family, we all lived in the same building. Joe giving his haircuts in the clubhouse, me getting on big David Wells in the kangaroo courts." - Dave Winfield (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, Mar 3 1993

 

"We've got a good young group of kids, who have a good working knowledge of how to throw the changeup." - Cito Gaston (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, Mar 4 1993

 

"Gaston sliced his tee shot at the 11th hole so badly that he hit a garage door. When the resident of the house figured out who he was, he had Gaston sign the golf ball." - Neil A. Campbell, Globe and Mail, Mar 4 1993

 

"I realize this is a business, but I didn't want to (leave Toronto)." - Tom Henke (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, Mar 6 1993

 

"His attitude is getting in the way of his ability." - Sandy Alderson, A's GM, on Rickey Henderson (quoted by AP), Globe and Mail, Mar 11 1993

 

"We started using our bats for guns, pretending to shoot the other pitcher in the shoulder or something. It was just something to keep us in the game." - Derek Bell on life in The Trenches (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, Mar 11 1993

 

"It was my mistake. I could have sworn the ball was at second base." - David Wells, on not covering first on a grounder (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, Mar 11 1993

 

"I wish those fans would stay home and yell at their wife or neighbours or something. Funny thing is, they never have anything negative to say to my face." - David Wells, on being booed in Dunedin (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, Mar 11 1993

 

"I wouldn't say no, I don't want him but I don't think we'll do anything on it." - Pat Gillick, on the possibility of trading for Rickey Henderson (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, Mar 12 1993

 

"Last year, I didn't have my legs ready. I had a bad hamstring that nobody knew about. I only got well about the last month of the season." - Joe Carter (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, Mar 13 1993

 

"I'll be talking to Derek Bell daily. To me Derek could be one of the keys to our success." - Larry Hisle (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, Mar 17 1993. (Bell was traded two weeks later.)

 

"It looked like he was running in the same spot for 10 minutes." - Cito Gaston, on Pat Borders stealing a base (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, Mar 17 1993

 

"I think what you have to do is play the type of game your team is built to." - Cito Gaston (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, Mar 17 1993

 

"I miss these guys." - Tom Henke, on his former teammates (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, Mar 19 1993

 

"And then there is Tony Fernandez, in a world of his own.

"Fernandez is 30 now, his rail-thin body obviously worn and clearly slower after nine major-league seasons and three operations in the past five years.

"Yet the shortstop with the best defensive statistics in major-league history desperately tries to prove he is no has-been.

"Not yet, anyway." - Marty York, Globe and Mail, Mar 19 1993

 

"To many, Fernandez still appears to be a bitter man. Seldom does he smile. Call him baseball's MMP - most moody player." - Marty York, Globe and Mail, Mar 19 1993

 

"Forced to deal with the dual stereotypes of Dominican ballplayers and Christian athletes, Fernandez became a loner. Even his Dominican teammates began to resent the way he retreated into a shell. He would break his silence on occasion, but only to throw tantrums." - Marty York, Globe and Mail, Mar 19 1993

 

"Shortstop Tony Fernandez, who will be a free agent after this season, has told folks that 'I would rather retire' than return to the Jays." - Marty York, Globe and Mail, Mar 22 1993

 

"I've erased Toronto from my memory. I've thrown away all my Blue Jay stuff. They never gave me a real chance and I prefer to forget them." - Jeff Kent (quoted by Marty York), Globe and Mail, Mar 22 1993

 

"Spring training statistics may be as meaningless as the Russian constitution, but is there anything coming out of the Jays' camp to raise a fan's hopes?" - John Allemang, Globe and Mail, Mar 23 1993

 

"David Wells looks like he's prepared to wait until the next World Series before he buckles down and pitches. He definitely is complacent, and may have trouble with that buckle if he doesn't lay off the post-game pizza." - John Allemang, Globe and Mail, Mar 23 1993

 

"After spending a considerable amount of time in the United States during the off-season, I can tell you without doubt that baseball is suffering from a serious image problem down here.

"Ballplayers generally are not glorified in the States as they are in Canada. They are often perceived here as heavy drinkers, drug addicts, gun lovers, violent, careless, arrogant, woman-chasers, snotty, spoiled millionaires, malingerers and/or malcontents." - Marty York, Globe and Mail, Mar 25 1993

 

"I never thought I'd write this, but I miss George Bell.

"There was a time, back when he was threatening to murder me, that I thought he was one of the more despicable human beings on the planet… And yet I miss George Bell now because I think the Toronto baseball scene was considerably more interesting with him. At least he had personality, something the Jays are pretty well bankrupt of these days." - Marty York, Globe and Mail, Mar 26 1993

 

"I was the best player the Blue Jays ever had. I was the only MVP they ever had. Maybe they should remember that." - George Bell, who wanted to return to Toronto (quoted by Marty York), Globe and Mail, Mar 26 1993

 

"(Bell) is what a DH is supposed to be - a reliable batsman with legitimate power - and that's something you can't honestly say about Bo Jackson. Or Paul Molitor, for that matter." - Marty York, Globe and Mail, Mar 26 1993

 

"The Jays say they won't miss Key and they expect us to believe this." - Marty York, Globe and Mail, Mar 29 1993

 

"(Derek) Bell approaches the game as if style is a major fundamental that needs constant work." - Larry Millson, Globe and Mail, Mar 30 1993

 

"I'm kind of a Devon White kind of hitter." - Darrin Jackson (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, Mar 31 1993

 

"I've had six wonderful years in Toronto. That's when the tears start to come." - David Wells, on being released by the Blue Jays (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, Mar 31 1993

 

"Personally, I'm glad to be back from Florida, where self-righteous ballplayers exhibit delusions of grandeur." - Marty York, Globe and Mail, Mar 31 1993

 

"I'd put him in the top four centre fielders in the National League." - Al LaMacchia on Darrin Jackson (quoted by Millson), Globe and Mail, Apr 1 1993

 

"They didn't give me anything - not a tricycle, a bicycle or a car. They gave me a picture, a sketch that wasn't me. It was Ollie Brown." - Cito Gaston, on the Day San Diego gave in his honour in 1970 (quoted by Millson), Globe and Mail, Apr 1 1993

 

"Sometimes a player wears out his welcome." - Pat Gillick on Manuel Lee (quoted by William Houston), Globe and Mail, Apr 1 1993

 

"Gaston in a foul mood is a veritable Pollyanna compared with someone such as John McNamara in a great mood." - Al Strachan, Globe and Mail, Apr 5 1993

 

"While the game as a whole may be in its death throes, here it is young and vigorous, full of life and free of cynicism. Here the believers truly believe." - Stephen Brunt, Globe and Mail, Apr 9 1993

 

"The Blue Jays have delivered emotionally for their millions of supplicants, and the relationship between the team and the people remains as fresh and delirious and topsy-turvy as first love.

"Someday it won't be like that. Someday, the Blue Jay-fans-not-baseball-fans will understand that winning the World Series can be a once-in-a-lifetime thing… Relax, enjoy the goofiness. Be a fan in the time before reason sets in." - Stephen Brunt, Globe and Mail, Apr 9 1993

 

"…it would have to be a very big park for me to get a triple. And the outfielders would have to be standing there picking their noses before I could ever get to third." - Ed Sprague, on hitting for the cycle (quoted by Marty York), Globe and Mail, Apr 10 1993

 

"Fernandez... had become a borderline loony by the time he left town." - Neil A. Campbell, Globe and Mail, Apr 15 1993

 

"You and the ball, you and the ball. Only two things exist, you and the ball." - Larry Hisle instructing Derek Bell (quoted by Martin and Sean O'Malley), Globe and Mail, Apr 19 1993

 

"Have you heard the rumours about me? Have you heard that I beat my wife? Have you heard that I'm a homosexual? Have you heard that I left a bar the other night with a blonde on each arm?" - Kelly Gruber, from Rosie DiManno's Glory Days (quoted by William Houston), Globe and Mail, Apr 20 1993

 

"But I don't think my weight is the real reason they released me. I think that was bull----. Heck, I was timed as the fastest pitcher in camp. I could get to first base faster than any other Jay pitcher.

"I think my salary was probably the real reason they released me." - David Wells (quoted by Marty York), Globe and Mail, Apr 24 1993

 

"Ther are cliques in the Toronto clubhouse. Guys don't get along with one another. Sometimes, you would try to talk to certain guys and you'd get cold shoulders." - David Wells (quoted by Marty York), Globe and Mail, Apr 24 1993

 

"I could understand their business decision, too. I'm only going to play three more years at the most. They wanted somebody (Ward) who would be around longer." - Tom Henke (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, Apr 27 1993. (Henke's career wound up lasting longer than Ward's.)

 

"One of these days the moon is going to be in line with the stars, and some guy is going to start singing in Biafra." - Jack Morris, on his first win of the season (quoted by William Houston), Globe and Mail, Apr 28 1993

 

"Okay, I'll let you go, but I don't want you to go more than 130 pitches." - Cito Guzman, on Juan Guzman's attempt to throw a shutout (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, Apr 30 1993. (Guzman threw 137 pitches, and got his shutout.)

 

"The guys want to find out what I'm eating before the game or if I have a coffee, how much sugar, that sort of thing." - John Olerud, who is hitting .455 (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, Apr 30 1993

 

"The fans have improved immeasurably since the days when they cheered wildly at medium fly balls to centre. Now they only cheer wildly at deep fly balls to centre." - Martin and Sean O'Malley, Globe and Mail, May 3 1993

 

"They paid Olerud a lot of money and Gillick and his dad are close." - Fred McGriff on why he was traded to San Diego (quoted by Tom Maloney), Globe and Mail, May 4 1993

 

"I can't take this organization any more. They've screwed up my mind completely." - Domingo Martinez (quoted by Marty York), Globe and Mail, May 6 1993

 

"Bugs Bunny. Speedy Gonzalez, any of them. I watch them whenever I can. I love them. They make me feel good." - Junior Felix describing how he relaxes (quoted by Marty York), Globe and Mail, May 14 1993

 

"There is no chance that the Jays will become a Montreal Expos and Cleveland Indians, fielding a young, inexpensive squad while unloading high-salaried veterans." - Neil A. Campbell talking to Paul Beeston, Globe and Mail, May 19 1993

 

"And I don't care what anyone says - Paul Molitor isn't even close to the multi-dimensional all-round player that Dave Winfield is." - Marty York, Globe and Mail, May 21 1993

 

"Juan Guzman sometimes hangs onto the ball so long you're sure it's going to hatch in his hand one day." - Larry Millson, Globe and Mail, May 21 1993

 

"He looked in and touched his cap. I looked out and touched my helmet. Then I clicked my heels, got in (the box) and almost took his legs off with a line drive." - Dave Winfield on facing former teammate Jimmy Key for the first time in 1993 (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, May 22 1993

 

"Sometimes there can be a snowball effect in both directions." - Jack Morris on his second win (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, May 22 1993

 

"…one signing stood out as a symbol of all that is wrong with the game: Dave Stewart signed with the Blue Jays." - from Play Ball, John Feinstein (quoted by Martin and Sean O'Malley), Globe and Mail, May 31 1993

 

"I like pitching. It's fun." - Danny Cox (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, June 2 1993

 

"Women across Canada are attracted to Todd Stottlemyre." - from a CBC promotional package to advertisers (quoted by William Houston), Globe and Mail, June 3 1993

 

"You guys aren't famous. I've been nice to you guys. No more." - Roberto Alomar, after Frank magazine wrote about his sex life (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, June 3 1993

 

"Alomar just seems to be a classic case of an immensely talented young (25) man who has experienced dizzying heights at a young age... (Players) such as Alomar tend to think they're invincible and that this party is going to go on forever." - Neil A. Campbell, Globe and Mail, June 3 1993

 

"Rough is when you have five kids at home but you don't have any money in the bank or any food in the refrigerator. That's rough. This ain't rough. This is baseball." - Jack Morris on his struggles (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, June 7 1993

 

"Fernandez seemed to epitomize the talented but gutless squad that wore Jay uniforms in the late 1980's." - Neil A. Campbell, Globe and Mail, June 12 1993

 

"If his pitches aren't exactly spot on where and how he wants them, he'll dither around for 30 seconds between pitches trying to think his way out of the jam." - Neil A. Campbell on Juan Guzman, Globe and Mail, June 16 1993

 

"Fernandez came to the plate in the third inning to the song 'Don't Worry, Be Happy'. Sure." - Larry Millson, Globe and Mail, June 18 1993

 

"I think his socks make him look slower." - Cito Gaston on Rob Butler (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, June 19 1993

 

"He's older and I think it's pretty obvious that he can't do the things he used to do at the plate and especially in the field. It looks like he's probably a little smarter now, though." - Rick Cerone on Tony Fernandez (quoted by Marty York), Globe and Mail, June 21 1993

 

"I can't believe how many runs they can score. Either their bats are loaded, or they're heating the balls." - George Steinbrenner on the Jays (quoted by Marty York), Globe and Mail, June 22 1993

 

"I felt like I had a big responsibility to Canadians. I was constantly reminded of that." - Rob Ducey on his time with the Jays (quoted by Marty York), Globe and Mail, June 22 1993

 

"It was snowing. It was cold. I didn't know what to expect. I was in shock." - Roberto Alomar's first glimpse of Toronto, from his book Second To None (quoted by William Houston), Globe and Mail, June 22 1993

 

"(Several) Toronto Blue Jay observers think that after John gets a hit and receives a standing ovation from the SkyDome crowd, he should try very hard to lift his hand to the peak of his cap, tip the cap, and then put his hand back down again. It would be relatively painless and quite pleasing to the home-town folks." - William Houston on John Olerud, Globe and Mail, June 24 1993

 

"I can remember when he was 13, telling him he really did have a gift. I had to spend $200 on a batting screen just to keep from getting hurt. He started hitting the ball hard enough so that I couldn't get out of the way any more." - John Olerud Sr. on his son (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, June 26 1993

 

"In leaving baseball, York said he was tired of dealing with 'million-dollar prima donnas'." - Marty York returns to covering football (quoted by David Langford), Globe and Mail, June 30 1993

 

"What stadium is more integrated into the neighbourhood than the SkyDome? It is an act of architectural hubris set next door to the CN Tower, which rises closer to the heavens than any other inhabitable man-made structure on earth. It is as safe and sterile inside as the city that surrounds it. A baseball stadium in the Bronx is a desperate act of escapism, monumental suspension of disbelief. The SkyDome is Toronto: beautiful, quiet, technically brilliant, and stinking in debt." - Martin and Sean O'Malley, Globe and Mail, July 5 1993

 

"One of Gaston's strengths as a manager is his ability to create an easy-going yet professional atmosphere." - Neil A. Campbell, Globe and Mail, July 7 1993

 

"I guess I should just get out of town." - Cito Gaston, on being booed at the All-Star Game in Baltimore (quoted by AP), Globe and Mail, July 14 1993

 

"It said here in April that the Jays would be a close third behind Baltimore and New York, and that seems a fair prediction to stick with." - Neil A. Campbell, Globe and Mail, July 15 1993

 

"The Americans are still sore at us for winning the World Series. They'll say they're not, but they are." - Martin and Sean O'Malley, Globe and Mail, July 20 1993

 

"Gaston himself has become a study in arrogance since the Blue Jays won the World Series. It looks good on him. He was too wishy-washy before. There is nothing wrong with a leader being arrogant; the history books don't record Napoleon or Patton saying 'Excuse me' before they roared over the enemy's ramparts." - Martin and Sean O'Malley, Globe and Mail, July 20 1993

 

"But in sport, unlike the arts, inspiration and will are not always enough and talent can erode over months rather than years. For modest talents like Candy Maldonado, the fall can be brutish and short. For greater talents like (Jack) Morris, it is often a gentler slope, but it is still a slope, downward and unrelenting." - Martin and Sean O'Malley, Globe and Mail, July 26 1993

 

"Did they? That's great news, I'm glad. Finally, they're showing some enthusiasm around here." - Greg Williams, WBAP radio announcer, on hearing that Rangers fans had thrown objects at the Jays (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, July 22 1993

 

"For many years the Toronto lineup was riddled with Junior Felix's, Dave Stieb's, and others whose collar tightened considerably when the pressure was on." - Neil A. Campbell, Globe and Mail, July 28 1993

 

"Henderson in Toronto was a comic-book villain, not a real one. He'll make the easy transition to hero the moment he changes uniform." - Stephen Brunt, Globe and Mail, Aug 1 1993

 

"Thank God he's slow. If he stole 50 bases, they would have to outlaw him from the game." - Bob Bailor on John Olerud (quoted by Martin and Sean O'Malley), Globe and Mail, Aug 1 1993

 

"To tell you the truth, I don't think they need me because they were a very competitive club." - Rickey Henderson (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, Aug 1 1993

 

"Everybody loves an underdog and the Blue Jays of the 1990's are the ultimate overdog, something that is not soon going to change." - Neil A. Campbell, Globe and Mail, Aug 5 1993

 

"Man, I'm gonna hit me some dingers in this park." - Rickey Henderson on the SkyDome (quoted by Stephen Brunt), Globe and Mail, Aug 7 1993

 

"Everyone from God to his teammates to the umpires to the grounds crew had conspired to bring him down." - Stephen Brunt, on how Dave Stieb reacts to misfortune, Globe and Mail, Aug 13 1993

 

"If you guys want to get rid of him, we'll take him in Toronto." - Joe Carter, after the Jays beat up on Roger Clemens (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, Aug 16 1993

 

"(Managing) according to Cito Gaston is just as much about personalities as the X's and O's of baseball." - Neil A. Campbell, Globe and Mail, Aug 19 1993

 

"Those who prefer to disregard a player's feelings and play by the book should ask themselves: wouldn't they want their own boss to do exactly as Gaston does?" - Neil A. Campbell, Globe and Mail, Aug 19 1993

 

"He'll have 80 RBIs, and then before you know it he's got 90 and then has 100." - Cito Gaston on Joe Carter (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, Aug 24 1993

 

"Without Pat Hentgen, we wouldn't be anywhere close to where we are now." - Dave Stewart (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, Aug 26 1993

 

"I'm an employee of the Blue Jays, but I would never tell them any of the things I see. I'm the first contact with the Blue Jays for most of the visiting players, and it's important to make a good impression so that if they become a free agent, maybe they will want to come back here." - visiting clubhouse manager Ian Duff, (quoted by Martin and Sean O'Malley), Globe and Mail, Aug 30 1993

 

"I've worked 11 years of my life, every day, to get here." - Rob Butler, quoted by Stephen Brunt, Globe and Mail, Sept 4 1993

 

"What is refreshing about Olerud is that in a sport crowded with self-obsessed jerks he has emerged as one of the most likeable professional athletes competing today." - Martin and Sean O'Malley, Globe and Mail, Sept 6 1993

 

"As if by osmosis, Olerud's fundamental decency - not to mention his ability - is having a contagious effect on his teammates. Even hard-nosed beat writers admit that this edition of the Jays is the best-ever in terms of character and maturity, as opposed to, say, the Jays of the George Bell era." - Martin and Sean O'Malley, Globe and Mail, Sept 6 1993

 

"Gaston's greatest strength as a manager has been balancing the egos and maintaining player loyalty - they like him and they want to play for him." - Stephen Brunt, Globe and Mail, Sept 6 1993

 

"Of all the changes to the Blue Jays last winter, Gruber's departure was the one that nobody seemed to mourn, inside or outside the organization." - Stephen Brunt, Globe and Mail, Sept 9 1993

 

"I think the majority of the fans weren't real familiar with the kind of game that I play. They didn't know what to expect. It took a while for them to get a feel for the way I play." - Paul Molitor (quoted by Stephen Brunt), Globe and Mail, Sept 13 1993

 

"I feel like part of the home team now. That took a while." - Paul Molitor (quoted by Stephen Brunt), Sept 13 1993

 

"No one's asked the SkyDome fans to make more noise this year so they're again more like a theatre crowd attending Phantom of the Bullpen, or Phantom Bullpen, or something." - Larry Millson, Globe and Mail, Sept 14 1993

 

"When I wnt out for the game, the guys were really laughing. Here I was with Pat Hentgen's shoes, Al Leiter's glove, and Shawn Green's jersey. I didn't care, I haven't slept in a day and a half." - Huck Flener makes his major-league debut minus his uniform (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, Sept 15 1993

 

"If I hadn't made the major leagues, I probably would have grown up to be an engineer or an architect." - George Bell, from Hard Ball, with Bob Elliott