Famous quotes from the sport of baseball -- Who said it, Part 2

In last week's column I featured several quotes from people talking about baseball. The speakers included Lou Gehrig, Amos Otis, Rogers Hornsby, Ernie Harwell, Wee Willie Keeler, Ernie Banks, Bill Veeck and Hank Aaron. This week I have some more memorable statements and it will be up to you to determine the author of these legendary quotes. If you did well last week, you may have similar results this week. Ready? Let's take a look. "Doesn't anybody here know how to play this game?" The New York Mets began playing in 1962. The first year franchise was made up of a mix of players, a few of whom did have some game. Unfortunately many were not quite up to the standards of the day. It was the legendary Casey Stengel that served as the Mets manager and as the season wore on and the futility continued it was old Casey that wondered aloud what many Mets fans were certainly thinking. The Mets were a miserable 40-120 that first year, but despite that (and Stengel's unhappiness) many considered the lovable Mets a team worth rooting for. I wonder what Mets fans today would have to say if they turned in a similar season these days. Actually I don't really have to wonder. It would not be good. "I knew my career was over when my baseball card came out in 1965 and it had no picture with it." This colorful comment came from none other than Bob Uecker. Perhaps the funniest guy to ever play the game he made a career out of belittling himself. Uecker recently passed away and baseball certainly lost its most colorful ambassador. He will be missed. "Don't look back, something might be gaining on you." This suggestion that one should always be thinking about what is next on the ball field instead of dwelling on what had already taken place, comes from Satchel Paige. The former star of the Negro Leagues had to wait until the age of 42 to make his major league debut. That is a record that still stands and is not likely to be broken. Likewise he holds the record for being the oldest to play as his last big league game was at age 59. During his barnstorming days he would tell his infielders to sit down because he would not need them. He would then strike out the side. He threw almost exclusively fast balls for many years. How good was he? Well let's look at some comments from some Hall of Famers that went up against him. "I never hit against anybody better." - Charlie Gehringer. "Paige's fastball made my own look like a change up." - Dizzy Dean. "He was the best I ever faced." - Joe DiMaggio. You get the idea. "If a horse can't eat it, I don't want to play on it." This quote came from Dick Allen who made his feelings known about artificial turf. The slugger was with the White Sox when he said this, but I remember him from his Philadelphia Phillies days. I was in Connie Mack Stadium on the night he and teammate Frank Thomas had a misunderstanding during batting practice. Thomas swung his bat at "then" Richie Allen's head. We missed the interaction, but there was a lot in the papers the next day about it. By the way Frank Thomas was traded that following day as one does not attack the star of your own team without consequences. "In case I hit it." The man was 6'6'' tall and swung with all his might. He hit some of the most prodigious home runs baseball has ever seen. So when Dave Kingman was asked by a reporter why he swung so hard, his answer was simple and to the point. "There is no room for discrimination in baseball. It is the national pastime and a game for all." Considering that this statement was made before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball it carries significant weight. The comment came from none other than Lou Gehrig. He was in the minority when he said this, but thankfully saner minds came to prevail. The game is better off because discrimination was eliminated. "Nobody goes to that restaurant anymore, it's too crowded." Has anyone been more quoted than the late great Yogi Berra? He made the above comment and many more. At first glance he appears to be slightly simple minded, but I'm not sure he was more of a genius than any of us. How no one could go to a restaurant that's too crowded seems silly, but Yogi was referring to his friends. They did not go to this particular establishment because they did not want to wait for a table. Here is a sample of some other beauties from the Yankee catcher. "When you come to the fork in the road – take it." He lived on a cul de sac and you could get to his house no matter which "fork" you took. "I knew the record would stand until it was broken." Can't argue with that logic. "You can observe a lot by just watching." Same thing. One more from Yogi Berra, though indirectly. Several years ago my daughter was in attendance at baseball's winter meetings. She had the chance to hear George Brett speak and he told the story of playing golf in Cooperstown, New York. A lot of Hall of Famers return to the Baseball Hall of Fame there each year to watch the new inductees enshrined. During the weekend Brett played around of golf with Bill Murray and Yogi Berra. Go ahead and imagine being the fourth in this group as I have so many times! According to Brett, Yogi was faced with a 60 foot putt and proceeded it to leave it some twenty feet short. As Brett related, Yogi said as only Yogi could, "If I'da hit it harder, I'da missed it closer!"