Carl Crawford Quotes

I think walks are overrated unless you can run... If you get a walk and put the pitcher in a stretch, that helps. But the guy who walks and can't run, most of the time they're clogging up the bases for somebody who can run.

I cant think of anything more humiliating than losing a ballgame to a guy who steals home on you. It happened to me one time against Kansas City. I had a 2-2 count on the hitter - and Amos Otis broke from third. The pitch was a ball and slid in safe. I felt like a nickel.

Stealing bases is just something I like to do. I figure if I can hit home runs and steal bases, I'd be different than everybody else.

I always tried to watch the pitcher and his complete windup from the moment he had the ball in his glove all the way through his motion, and tried to follow it all the way out of his hand, all the way to home plate.

American League teams don't bunt very often. National League teams bunt a lot.

'Get up and hit a home run,' has never been a part of the usable technique of any manager.

There ain't no genius here. Strategy in baseball is overrated. People say, 'That Weaver, he plays for the long ball too much.' You bet I do. Hit 'em out. Then I got no worry about somebody lousing up a bunt, I got no worry about the hit and run - and that's really overrated - I got no worry about base-running errors. And I can't screw it up myself.

I think my mindset and my approach is to hit the ball hard, whether it be first pitch or work the count.

When you feel like you're going to have a low-scoring game, why not have one of your better hitters have a chance? All of a sudden you're in the ninth inning and you have one of your best hitters on deck that doesn't get up. I always think about that.

You can't go up there trying to get hits. You can just go up there trying to put together at-bats and square the baseball up.

It doesn't matter if we get a hit, a walk, hit by pitch; just trying to grind out at-bats.

When you allow stolen bases, that changes the game.

With a runner at second base with nobody out, you're trying to punch somebody out. You understand when there are guys in scoring position; hitters like to be aggressive early.

There's nobody on my ball club that doesn't go from first to third on a base hit, or from second to home. Every time you steal a base, you're taking a gamble on getting thrown out, and taking the bat out of the hitter's hand.

It took him 75 steps to get from third to home. I thought we were going to have to go out there and help him. A lot of players start thinking double then maybe wind up with a triple because the outfielder slips.

I want to hit the ball and I want to get at-bats. The results really dont matter to me.

Problem with (John) Wockenfuss getting on base is that it takes three doubles to score him.

We've got to learn how to stay out of triple plays.

I'm not thinking home run, I just want to put a good swing on the ball. When you go looking for home runs, you get off of your swing. So you don't think of homers when you go up to the plate.

A good time to hit is with men on base, because the pitcher ain't got no place to put you. He's going to get that ball around there somewhere. He don't want to walk you.

To tell the truth, I never think about a homer. I'm just thinking of the situation and what I've got to do when I go to the plate.

There is no defense against the base on balls.

The baselines belongs to the runner, and whenever I was running the bases, I always slid hard. I wanted infielders to have that instant's hesitation about coming across the bag at second or about standing in there awaiting a throw to make a tag. There are only 27 outs in a ballgame, and it was my job to save one for my team every time I possibly could.

I think people forgot that there are still ways you can get the ball inside rather than just standing there and throwing the ball in. You have to have a system that makes all things work.

I knew when the ball was going out (over the Green Monster). It was something I worked into the decoy, but it used to tick the pitchers off. Bill Monbouquette used to say, 'Can't you at least make it look like you can catch it?' Meanwhile, the ball would be on its way over the fence to a spot three-quarters of the way out to the railroad tracks.