A baseball manager is a necessary evil.
Sparky Anderson

Baseball is a simple game. If you have good players and if you keep them in the right frame of mind then the manager is a success.
Sparky Anderson

Casey knew his baseball. He only made it look like he was fooling around. He knew every move that was ever invented and some that we haven't even caught on to yet.
Sparky Anderson

Good seasons start with good beginnings.
Sparky Anderson

I don't believe a manager ever won a pennant. Casey Stengel won all those pennants with the Yankees. How many did he win with the Boston Braves and Mets?
Sparky Anderson

I don't want to embarrass any other catcher by comparing him to Johnny Bench.
Sparky Anderson

I only had a high school education and believe me, I had to cheat to get that.
Sparky Anderson

I understand people who boo us. It's like going to Broadway show, you pay for your tickets and expect to be entertained. When you're not, you have a right to complain.
Sparky Anderson

If I ever find a pitcher who has heat, a good curve, and a slider, I might seriously consider marrying him, or at least proposing.
Sparky Anderson

It's a terrible thing to have to tell your fans, who have waited like Detroit's have, that their team won't win it this year. But it's better than lying to them.
Sparky Anderson


Just give me 25 guys on the last year of their contracts; I'll win a pennant every year.
Sparky Anderson

Me carrying a briefcase is like a hotdog wearing earrings.
Sparky Anderson

My idea of managing is giving the ball to Tom Seaver and sitting down and watching him work.
Sparky Anderson

People who live in the past generally are afraid to compete in the present. I've got my faults, but living in the past is not one of them. There's no future in it.
Sparky Anderson

Players have two things to do. Play and keep their mouths shut.
Sparky Anderson

Success is the person who year after year reaches the highest limits in his field.
Sparky Anderson

The great thing about baseball is when you're done, you'll only tell your grandchildren the good things. If they ask me about 1989, I'll tell them I had amnesia.
Sparky Anderson

The only reason I'm coming out here tomorrow is the schedule says I have to.
Sparky Anderson

The only thing I believe is this: A player does not have to like a manager and he does not have to respect a manager. All he has to do is obey the rules.
Sparky Anderson

The players make the manager, it's never the other way.
Sparky Anderson