Home Runs of Wisdom: The Ultimate Collection of Inspirational Baseball Quotes

"It ain’t over ’til it’s over."

- Yogi Berra

"Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game."

- Babe Ruth

"It's not what you achieve, it's what you overcome. That’s what defines your career."

- Carlton Fisk

"Nobody wanted me. Scouts told me to go to school, to forget baseball. Coaches said, ‘You’re never going to make it.’ I appreciated their honesty because I think when someone tells you something you may not like, you have to use that as fuel for motivation."

- Mike Piazza

"You may not think you’re going to make it. You may want to quit. But if you keep your eye on the ball, you can accomplish anything."

- Hank Aaron

"Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there."

- Bo Jackson

"I’d walk through hell in a gasoline suit to play baseball."

- Pete Rose

"Competing at the highest level is not about winning. It’s about preparation, courage, understanding, and nurturing your people, and heart. Winning is the result."

- Joe Torre

"Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game"

- Babe Ruth

"Every strike brings me closer to the next home run."

- Babe Ruth

"I feel that the most important requirement in success is learning to overcome failure. You must learn to tolerate it, but never accept it."

- Reggie Jackson

"In playing ball, and in life, a person occasionally gets the opportunity to do something great. When that time comes, only two things matter: being prepared to seize the moment and having the courage to take your best swing."

- Hank Aaron

"When you’ve learned to believe in yourself, there’s no telling how good a player you can be. That’s because you have the mental edge."

- Rod Karew

"Never give up. Don’t cave."

- Jim “The Rookie” Morris

"Play this game like the 8-year-old you used to be, dreaming to play in the show. Heart, passion, and fire! Remember where you came from."

- Bryce Harper

"Any time you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don’t, then you are wasting your time on Earth."

- Roberto Clemente

"A winner is somebody who goes out there every day and exhausts himself trying to get something accomplished."

- Joe Torre

"I was told I would never make it because I’m too short. Well, I’m still too short, but I’ve got 10 All-Star games, two World Series championships, and I’m a very happy and contented guy. It doesn’t matter what your height is, it’s what’s in your heart."

- Kirby Puckett

"I want people to expect more from me because I expect more. If you don’t set goals high, you’re not trying."

- Todd Helton

"You should seek approval from yourself."

- Ichiro Suzuki

"Whenever I get into a tough situation…I think of growing up, and I say, ‘This situation won’t be the worst one I’ve ever been in."

- Billy Wagner

"If my uniform doesn’t get dirty, I haven’t done anything in the baseball game."

- Rickey Henderson

"One of the beautiful things about baseball is that every once in a while you come into a situation where you want to, and where you have to, reach down and prove something."

- Nolan Ryan

"There is no time to fool around when you practice. Every drill must have a purpose."

- Albert Pujols

"In baseball, my theory is to strive for consistency, not to worry about the numbers. If you dwell on statistics you get shortsighted; if you aim for consistency, the numbers will be there at the end."

- Tom Seaver

"I don’t fraternize with players when it’s time to hit. I’m preparing for the game. It’s the most important time of the day."

- Albert Belle

"You can’t get real happy or real depressed when you play baseball. Baseball is a great sport in that it offers a player a lot of opportunities for atonement."

- Mike Piazza

"I like to be against the odds. I’m not afraid to be lonely at the top."

- Barry Bonds

"Winning depends on where you put your priorities. It’s usually best to put them over the fence."

- Jason Giambi

"Slumps are like a soft bed. They’re easy to get into and hard to get out of."

- Johnny Bench

"Pressure is a word that is misused in our vocabulary. When you start thinking of pressure, it’s because you’ve started to think of failure."

- Tommy Lasorda

"Every great batter works on the theory that the pitcher is more afraid of him than he is of the pitcher."

- Ty Cobb

"Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday’s success or put its failures behind and start over again. That’s the way life is, with a new game every day, and that’s the way baseball is."

- Bob Feller

"Load up your mind with pictures capturing your preferred tomorrow. Put the remembrances of the past in a place where they won’t block your view."

- Gary Carter

"I can’t stand satisfaction. To me, greatness comes from that quest for perfection."

- Mike Schmidt

"Don’t ever let the pressure exceed the pleasure."

- Joe Maddon

"Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but how we react to what happens, not by what life brings us but the attitude we bring to life."

- Wade Boggs

"You’ve gotta find a way to get out of your own way, so you can progress in life."

- Steve Carlton

"Luck is the by-product of busting your fanny."

- Don Sutton

"Hustle is just playing the game right."

- Jimmy Rollins

"Work hard and have patience."

- Randy Johnson

"Don’t try to be a hero. Try to be a winner."

- George Brett

"You either get better or you get worse. Those are the only two options."

- Max Scherzer

"If you expect greatness, greatness shouldn’t surprise you."

- Justin Verlander

"Good is not good when better is expected."

- Vin Scully

"Winning isn’t everything. Wanting to is."

- Catfish Hunter

"If you don’t have dreams, you don’t have a life."

- Bryce Harper

"You owe it to yourself to be the best you can possibly be - in baseball, and in life."

- Pete Rose

"Talent may get you on the field, but it's effort & attitude that will keep you there"

- Ken Griffey Jr

"If my uniform doesn't get dirty, I haven't done anything in the baseball game."

- Rickey Henderson

"Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is."

- Bullet Bob Feller

"I'd walk through hell in a gasoline suit to play baseball."

- Pete Rose

"There are so many people out there who will tell you that you can’t. What you’ve got to do is turn about and say ‘Watch me’."

- Bryce Harper

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination"

- Tommy LaSorda

"What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle, and giving 110 percent all the time."

- Don Zimmer

"There may be people that have more talent than you, but there is no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do."

- Derek Jeter

"You can’t let the failures get you down. Learn from them, stay positive, and never give up."

- Buster Posey

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."

- Albert Pujols

"One of the beautiful things about baseball is that every once in a while you come into a situation where you want to, and where you have to, reach down and prove something"

- Nolan Ryan

"Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer."

- Ted Williams

"You have to have a lot of little boy in you to play baseball for a living."

- Roy Campanella

"Baseball is a game of failure. It's about how you respond to it that matters."

- Alex Rodriguez

"Pitching is the art of instilling fear."

- Sandy Koufax

"I always try to do the best I can in every at-bat, every game. Just try to be consistent."

- Mike Trout

"You don't just accidentally show up in the World Series."

- Anthony Rizzo

"It's not about the name on the back of the jersey; it's about the name on the front."

- David Wright

"You can't worry about what people say about you. You just have to go out and do your job, and that's what I focus on."

- Manny Machado

"I'm not afraid to fail. I'm not afraid to fall over and make a mistake."

- Dustin Pedroia

"I don't care about three hits in a game; I care about going 3-for-4 and helping the team win."

- Christian Yelich

"Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing."

- Javier Báez

"I want to be the best. I want to be the best at what I do."

- Cody Bellinger

"You've got to have fun. Regardless of how you feel inside, you've got to project positive energy."

- Manny Ramirez

"You can't let the highs be too high and the lows be too low."

- Ryan Howard

"You've got to love the process."

- Mike Soroka

"You've got to have that edge to compete at the highest level."

- Gerrit Cole

"There's always room for improvement, no matter how long you've been in the game."

- Justin Verlander

"If you have a bad day in baseball, and start thinking about it, you will have 10 more."

- Sammy Sosa

"Never say never in this game because crazy stuff can happen."

- Mark Buehrle

"Remember two things: play hard and have fun."

- Tony Gwynn

"It isn’t hard to be good from time to time in sports. What is tough is being good every day"

- Willie Mays

"I think about baseball when I wake up in the morning. I think about it all day and I dream about it at night. The only time I don’t think about it is when I’m playing it."

- Carl Yastrzemski

"People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring."

- Rogers Hornsby

"Do what you love to do and give it your very best. Whether it’s business or baseball, or the theater, or any field. If you don’t love what you’re doing and you can’t give it your best, get out of it. Life is too short."

- Al Lopez

"When I played ball, I didn’t play for fun… It’s no pink tea, and Mollycoddles had better stay out. It’s a contest and everything that implies, a struggle for supremacy, a survival of the fittest."

- Ty Cobb

"Never permit the pressure to exceed the pleasure."

- Joe Maddon

"A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example."

- Joe DiMaggio

"If a ballplayer is satisfied, he’s going to slip. You have to keep fighting to improve."

- Nellie Fox

"Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way."

- Satchel Paige

"When you get up to the plate, nobody’s there to help you. You’ve got to do this on your own."

- Ichiro Suzuki

"The best pitchers have a short-term memory and a bulletproof confidence."

- Greg Maddux

"People out there said I was too small. It’s those kinds of moments that pushed me to be where I’m at right now."

- Tim Lincecum

"Why does everyone talk about the past? All that counts is tomorrow’s game."

- Roberto Clemente

"If you’re not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he’ll be ready to take your job."

- Brooks Robinson

"Baseball is such a tough game, it really humbles you at times, you just have to try not to get too high or too low."

- Chase Utley

"A winner is somebody who goes out there every day and exhausts himself trying to get something accomplished.."

- Joe Torre

"Never allow the circumstances of your life to become an excuse. People will allow you to do it. But I believe we have a personal obligation to make the most of the abilities we have."

- Jim Abbott

"If you’re not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he’ll be ready to take your job. I want people to expect more from me because I expect more. If you don’t set goals high, you’re not trying."

- Todd Helton

"To succeed in baseball, as in life, you must make adjustments."

- Ken Griffey Jr.

"There are only two seasons – winter and baseball."

- Bill Veeck

"Baseball is a game of the soul."

- Pedro Martinez

"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too."

- Yogi Berra

"You don’t need to have a perfect ending to be happy."

- Prince Fielder

"I didn’t realize how much I loved the game until I couldn’t play it."

- Mark Teixeira

"It’s a game, and that’s how I am going to treat it."

- Ken Griffey Jr.

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

- Frank Robinson

"The ball player who loses his head, who can't keep his cool, is worse than no ball player at all."

- Lou Gehrig

"If you dream of beating me, you better wake up and apologize."

- Muhammed Ali

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

- Mahatma Gandhi

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift."

- Steve Prefontaine

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your heart."

- Ecclesiastes 9:10

"The journey is the reward."

- Chinese proverb

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall."

"The differences between the impossible and the possible lies in one's determination"

"Cherish the past, enjoy the present, and claim the future."

"When life throws you a curveball, hit it out of the park"

"The task ahead of you is never as great as the power of the Lord behind you"

"Leadership Is About What You Do Not What You Say"