Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing.
A pitcher needs two pitches, one they're looking for and one to cross them up.
What is life, after all, but a challenge? And what better challenge can there be than the one between the pitcher and the hitter.
Gentlemen, for the first 60 feet that was a hell of a pitch.
Home plate is 17 inches wide, but I ignore the middle 12 inches. I pitch to the two-and-a-half inches on each side.
I'm probably the only guy who worked for (Casey) Stengel before and after he was a genius.
I throw just as hard as ever - it just takes twice as long to get there.
[On Willie Mays] He was something like zero for twenty-one the first time I saw him. His first major league hit was a home run off me and I'll never forgive myself. We might have gotten rid of Willie (Mays) forever if I'd only struck him out.
You don't just throw the ball - you propel it.
When I throw a ground ball, I expect it to be an out, maybe two.
Twenty games is the magic figure for pitchers - .300 is the magic figures for batters. It pays off in salary and reputation. And those are the two things that keep a ballplayer in business.
A good hitter has timing. A good pitcher upsets timing.
I'll never forgive myself. We might have gotten rid of Willie forever if I'd only struck him out.
Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.
The difference between winning nineteen games and winning twenty for a pitcher is bigger than anyone out of baseball realizes. It's the same for hitters - someone who hits .300 looks back on the guy who batted .295 and says 'tough luck buddy.
A sore arm is like a headache or a toothache. It can make you feel bad, but if you just forget about it and do what you have to do, it will go away. If you really like to pitch and you want to pitch, that's what you'll do.
Once (Stan) Musial timed your fastball, your infielders were in jeopardy.
