Kirk Gibson Baseball Birthday Quote of the Day for May 28th

Birthday Quote of the Day to Kirk Gibson, born on this day in 1957. Though many of us remember him for his many years with the Tigers, he is credited for hitting one of the most clutch home runs in baseball history with the Dodgers in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series off Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley.

Here is the Kirk Gibson Baseball Birthday Quote of the Day,

"He's a lot like Jabber and Walton in basketball. He can turn this franchise around."
--Sparky Anderson, talking about Gibson during his rookie year with the Tigers

MIGUEL CABRERA BASEBALL BIRTHDAY QUOTE OF THE DAY FOR APRIL 18TH

Happy 34th birthday to the best hitter in baseball over the last decade--Miguel Cabrera.

What a career--two time MVP, 4 x batting champ, 11 x All-Star, 7 x Silver Slugger, 2 x Home Run and Ribbie Champ and the list goes on and on. Of course, he will always be remembered for his incredible 2012 Triple Crown season.

The amazing part is he is still only 34 years old--think of how many more records he could break with his career home run total of 448 and batting average of .320.

In honor of this incredible player from his years first with the Marlins and now with the Tigers, Miguel Cabrera is the Baseball Birthday Quote of the Day,

"He's the best hitter in the game. It sounds crazy, but if he just hits a single, you're like, 'OK, we can work with that.'"
--Robin Ventura

For lost of Cabrera quotes, go to www.baseballquotations.com

SPARKY ANDERSON BASEBALL BIRTHDAY QUOTE OF THE DAY FOR FEBRUARY 22

Hall of Fame Manager George 'Sparky' Anderson was born on February 22nd 1934. What a career and what a guy.

This is about the easiest baseball birthday quote of all-time. Free plug for my website, but we have over 130 quotes (many hilarious) from Sparky Anderson. Just go visit Sparky at www.baseballquotations.com  and see the list of over 11,000 other quotes.

So Sparky was the manger of the Big Red Machine from 1970--1978. He won two World Series during his tenure with the Reds. Then with one of the stupidest moves in baseball history, the Reds fired him after the 1978 season.

All he did then was manage the Tigers from 1979--1995, winning the 1984 World Series and being voted Manager of the Year twice. His Number 10 was retied by the Reds. His Number 11 was retired by the Tigers and he was selected by the Veterans Committee for the Hall of Fame in 2000.

He was one of baseball's beloved figures---a great and witty manager who never took himself seriously, but treated his players with great respect. He is greatly missed.

In honor of his great managerial career, he is today's recipient of the Baseball Birthday Quote of the Day.

"The day I got a hit off Koufax was when he knew it was time to retire."
--Sparky Anderson, on his short major league career

"I only had a high school education and believe me, I had to cheat to get that."

"A baseball manager is a necessary evil"

ALAN TRAMMEL BASEBALL BIRTHDAY QUOTE OF THE DAY FOR FEBRUARY 21

The great Tigers shortstop Alan Trammel was born on this day in 1958. Having witnessed his entire career, the only question I have is why is he not in the Hall of Fame?

He was the model of consistency. Check out the numbers. First of all he played all 19 years of his career with the Tigers, 1984 World Series MVP, 6 All Star Games, 4 Gold Gloves, 7 years of hitting .300 or higher, 3 Silver Sluggers and he ended his career with 2293 hits.

If that is not impressive enough, he and Lou Whitaker, the equally impressive Tigers second baseman, holds the record for most double play combinations in the entire history of baseball. Think about that for a second.

Unfortunately, he is off the ballot after this year so it will be up the veterans committee to make the determination about his Hall of Fame entry. He would have my vote.

Though he is not in the Hall of Fame, he does have the great honor of being the February 21 recipient of the Baseball Birthday Quote of the Day.

"I thought he was as good defensively as anyone I've ever seen with the exception of Ozzie (Smith),"
--Whitey Herzog

Happy December 18th Baseball Birthday to TY COBB

Tyrus Raymond Cobb was born on this day in 1886. Today would have been his 130th birthday.

Reciting all his accomplishments is like citing the history of baseball. He holds the record for best career batting average at .367, all time record for leading the American League in batting, 1911 MVP and so much more.

The feisty (that's a nice politically correct way to say it) Georgia Peach was rough and tumble as they come. He played for the Tigers for twenty two years, several as the player-manager. He ended his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1999, The Sporting News named him the third greatest player of all-time. Many regard him as the greatest of all-time.

In honor of his birthday, here are two all-time great Ty Cobb quotes.

 

"They were all against me, but I beat the bastards and left them in the dirt."
--Ty Cobb

"That's easy. You take a gun and shoot him."
--Ring Lardner, sports columnist, on how you stopped Ty Cobb from getting on base.

Lots more at www.baseballquotations.com