Baseball has been a part of the national consciousness of America for over a hundred years, and though it has grown and declined in popularity throughout the decades, there is no denying the way it has permeated the public consciousness of our great country since its inception. And like anything great, it has inspired innumerable quotes, some funny, some philosophical. In no particular order, here are five of the greatest baseball quotes I’ve ever heard.
“Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand.” – Leo Durocher
As any lifelong baseball fan can attest, for many folks, baseball is an acquired taste. We’ve all encountered that friend or family member who only watches during the postseason, much like church attendance swells during major holidays. We all have known people who feel the need to let us know how little they care about baseball, and don’t understand at all how we can enjoy attending a game at all, much in the same way vocal atheists make sure the religious folk of the world know their scorn
Just as for the devout on Sunday, however, there’s a segment of the fandom that truly understands the strategy of the double switch. They can quote the actual definition of the infield fly rule. Most of all, they understand the perfection that is a well-played game of baseball.
”Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” –Babe Ruth
In a game where a thirty percent success rate is considered very good, failure is far more common than success. In this succinct quote, the Babe sums up the human condition. With most things in life, failure is far more common than we would like. Persistence is the key to great success. Rather than getting bogged down in swings and misses, The Babe focused on the positive. He remained steadfast in his belief that the only thing failure meant was that the next great moment was right around the corner.
“It’s the mathematical potential for a single game to last forever, in a suspended world where no clock rules the day, that aligns baseball as much with the dead as the living.”
– Bill Vaughn
This quote sums up the great game almost perfectly. It gives voice to what many fans love, as well as the thing detractors hate the most. So long as a single strike remains for the trailing team, there is a chance, no matter how infinitely small, for them to still win the day. While Vaughn was known for non-baseball writing more than sports-related things, he still managed to utter one of baseball’s greatest quotes.
On another level, baseball is most certainly connected to the dead, far more than any other sport. It has a long history. It possesses attention to statistical detail that borders on obsessive. That level of detail enables a mostly-fair comparison between the modern-day player and the long-gone hall of famers. In that way, Pete Rose and Ty Cobb, or Cy Young and Nolan Ryan shared a connection that would be impossible in any other occupation or circumstance.
“On the baseball diamond, if nowhere else, America was truly a classless society. DiMaggio’s grace embodied the democracy of our dreams.” – David Halberstam
The beauty of baseball is that it really is a true meritocracy. Every player earns his spot on a team. Every player loses his spot on the team. They become legends or goats based on their performance. In so many areas in life, we are sadly reminded that it isn’t what you know, but WHO you know. On the baseball diamond, however, the world seems fair. A good hitter is a good hitter, whether he grew up in abject poverty or relative comfort. Aroldis Chapman‘s fastball would still be as fast, regardless of his skin color, personality, or heritage. On the diamond, all men are judged by the same criteria.
“No one loves the numbers more than I do, but numbers don’t measure everything, especially when it comes to evaluating defense. And in the end, I am going to trust Buck Showalter‘s eyes more than a set of statistics devised by someone who never played the game.” –Tim Kurkjian
Baseball is one of the most statistically quantified games in existence. Every detail can be stated as a percentile chance. Baseball has even effectively quantified luck, via BABIP, which might be the most statistically amazing feat in history, as luck is largely unquantifiable. Yet every year, often at least once or twice a game, something happens that is utterly statistically improbable. Sometimes it’s minor; other times it’s game-changing and major.
It’s that random factor that will always keep the baseball fan coming back time and again. For if there is any real certainty in baseball, it’s that nothing is certain and that the Gods of Baseball delight in shocking us time and again. Often, those chances only occurred due to a manager having a gut feeling. A player somehow knowing that the curveball would come, despite a hard-throwing reliever being on the mound. It is part of the beauty of baseball.
So that’s my five. I’d love to hear some of yours in the comments below.
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-Chuck is a lifelong baseball fan, raised on the heartbreak of Cleveland Indians baseball since he was old enough to walk. Please judge him gently, he’s still in therapy over 2016.
