Pat Gillick Quotes

We fought like heck for every player and every advantage, but we knew we were part of something bigger than ourselves. To me, that is what baseball is all about. I hope it is always what baseball is all about.

Building a baseball team is like building a house. You look for the best architects, the best builders – and then you let them do their jobs.

What was the first name of the Houston club? It wasn’t the Astros. It was the Colt .45s. A lot of guys now will say Colt 45 is a beer. But it was also a pistol, and it went right with Texas.

When you talk about the American League, you think of Fenway. When you talk about the National League, you think of Wrigley and the fan base that they have in Chicago.

Baseball is about talent, hard work, and strategy. But at the deepest level, it’s about love, integrity, and respect.

I was lucky to go to work every day for 50 years, to a job that I loved.

Texting is a lot like an answering machine. If you don’t want to talk to somebody, it’s like screening your calls. To me, it’s a way of communication, but not one that I favor.

Philadelphia loves its team, and being able to win a World Series for the city, fans, players and our Phillies organization meant so much to me.

I was trying to land an 18-year-old strapping first baseman from Blanco, Texas, population 200. His name was Willie Upshaw. It turned out there were only three scouts who knew about Willie – Dave Yocum and I working for the Yankees, and Al LaMacchia from the Atlanta Braves.

My label in Toronto was ‘Stand Pat’ and I think that was a fair assessment. I tried to be patient, but if a trade came along – big or small – that I thought should be made, I would make it.

You need to have camaraderie in the clubhouse. Wherever you’re working, be it a baseball team or at a business, you want to walk in there and say, ‘Geez, it’s great to be at work. Let’s go get ’em,’ as opposed to walking in there knowing there’s going to be a commotion.