BEST QUOTE
"The batting champion has always been the one who hits for the highest average. The fielding champion should be the guy who had less errors or the better percentage. They are probably going to have to change the voting."
—Omar Vizquel, Indians shortstop, on being passed over for the American League Gold Glove
MOST VALUABLE QUOTE
"You can put together an All-Star team, and you might not win…I'd rather see a guy hit .260 with a .360 on-base percentage and doesn't run well than a guy who hits .300 with a .310 on-base percentage and runs well."
—Bob Melvin, Mariners manager
MOST VALUABLE QUOTE IN A DIVISION-WINNING PERIODICAL
"I'm grateful for that. I think Anaheim is the first product of revenue sharing. Revenue sharing has helped Anaheim develop and keep its players."
—Bud Selig, Major League Baseball Commissioner
THE PLAYERS' CHOICE
"That's the game. I know (Alex Rodriguez has) been making a lot of good years. I know one of these years he's going to be three-four years MVP in a row."
—Miguel Tejada, Athletics shortstop and American League MVP
"I wasn't expecting the difference to be that large…I thought it would be much closer, but I was expecting he would win it."
—Alex Rodriguez, Rangers shortstop and runner-up to Tejada
IN THE PROUD TRADITION OF JOSH BOOTY AND CHAD HUTCHINSON…
"In hindsight, we were wrong to put expectations in our mind that he'd be ready [for the majors] in 1-2 years."
—Brian Cashman, Yankees general manager, on prospect and former University of Michigan quarterback Drew Henson
"I do feel like I'm getting better. You wouldn't know it by looking at the box scores, but I'm working on things, trying to be more patient at the plate."
—Drew Henson, Yankees prospect
"I haven't looked at the stats since Day One. I think that's the best for me."
–Henson
"Physically, I feel good, but you do get worn down mentally playing every day. A lot of guys go through that when they're 18 or 19. It's much longer than I even imagined it could be."
–Henson
RUSTY GREER: UNSUNG IRON-MAN OF THE 20TH CENTURY
"Up to the year 2000, I averaged 145-146 games, hit .300, drove in 100 runs, all of that, that was pretty solid. But the things I did between the ages of 25 and 31 are catching up to me: playing hurt, playing when I shouldn't have, playing through pain."
—Rusty Greer, Rangers outfielder
"But when you're lockering next to Will Clark, Mickey Tettleton, Dean Palmer, guys like that, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. So I kept playing."
–Greer
"I've got a long life…I don't want to be old and decrepit before my time. But I'm going to do what I can to get back."
–Greer
INTO THIN AIR
"I have a lot of games left in me. At the same time, my whole thing is I want to play every day. It's upsetting I can't play every day here in Florida."
—Charles Johnson, Rockies catcher
"You don't want to be anywhere where people don't want you. I have the upper hand, and I don't want to give that up. We don't know if this is my last contract or not. I might not make another dime from baseball after this."
–Johnson
"I don't know why [manager Jeff] Torborg came up with the idea that I will play better if I play less. You don't tell Mike Piazza, or Jason Kendall or Brad Ausmus that you are going to play better if you play less."
–Johnson
CONTRADICTION, BY CALVIN KLEIN
"Allard Baird seems like a very sharp kind of guy to me."
—Bill James, Red Sox consultant and former assistant to the Kansas City Royals
"I don't think I will ever see a player who was hurt more (by a trade) than Neifi. He felt so much a part of Colorado, and when he was dealt it hit him hard."
—Allard Baird, Royals general manager
THE REST
"I think he's done an excellent job, and he's put together the nucleus of a team that will be a winner in the near future."
—Peter Angelos, Orioles owner, on general manager Syd Thrift
"We're all here trying to screw each other."
–Cashman, on the 2002 GM meetings
"I just hope every move we make is based on pitching and defense. The one thing Oakland and Anaheim have taught us is that if you have great pitching–a strong rotation and bullpen–you can win."
–Rodriguez, expressing his hopes for the 2003 Rangers
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