The only thing Abner Doubleday ever started was the Civil War.
BRANCH RICKEYThe only thing Abner Doubleday ever started was the Civil War.
BRANCH RICKEYLuck is a residue of design.
BRANCH RICKEYFill in any figure you want for that boy (Mickey Mantle). Whatever the figure, it’s a deal.
BRANCH RICKEYMan may penetrate the outer reaches of the universe, he may solve the very secret of eternity itself but for me, the ultimate human experience is to witness the flawless execution of the hit-and-run.
BRANCH RICKEYI find fault with my children because I like them and I want them to go places – uprightness and strength and courage and civil respect and anything that affects the probabilities of failure on the part of those that are closest to me, that concerns me – I find fault.
BRANCH RICKEYBaseball people are generally allergic to new ideas; it took years to persuade them to put numbers on uniforms, and it is the hardest thing in the world to get Major League Baseball to change anything—even spikes on a new pair of shoes—but they will eventually…they are bound to.
BRANCH RICKEYIt (a baseball box score) doesn’t tell how big you are, what church you attend, what color you are, or how your father voted in the last election. It just tells what kind of baseball player you were on that particular day.
BRANCH RICKEYLeisure is the handmaiden of the devil.
BRANCH RICKEYThe speed of the legs, the dexterity of the body, the grace of the swing, the elusiveness of the slide – these are the features that make Americans everywhere forget the last syllable of a man’s last name or the pigmentation of his skin.
BRANCH RICKEYProblems are the price you pay for progress.
BRANCH RICKEYNegligence or indifference are usually reviewed from an unlucky seat. The law of cause and effect and causality both work the same with inexorable exactitudes. Luck is the residue of design.
BRANCH RICKEYI don’t care if I was a ditch-digger at a dollar a day, I’d want to do my job better than the fellow next to me. I’d want to be the best at whatever I do.
BRANCH RICKEYDon’t worry about your individual numbers. Worry about the team. If the team is successful, each of you will be successful, too.
BRANCH RICKEYBaseball is a game of inches.
BRANCH RICKEYWe win if the world is convinced of two things, that you are a fine gentleman, and a great baseball player.
BRANCH RICKEYGood luck is what is left over after intelligence and effort have combined at their best. Luck is the residue of design.
BRANCH RICKEY