Pat Gillick Quotations

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.

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.

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.

No matter how much technology changes scouting, no matter how much free agency and big TV contracts change the business of baseball, I hope and pray that the heart of the game will never change.

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

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.

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

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.

There's always, I guess, a philosophy that if you come in, you want to change all the parts, you want to change everything over. I've always tried to preach that consistency and continuity are very, very important. So if I know the baseball people, and I know they're competent and could do the job, I don't see any reason to replace them.

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.

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.

For me, the most important thing is running a good clubhouse. The X's and the O's - you sit up in the stands and, for the most part, a lot of fans go to the game and they know what's going to happen. You're going to hit and run, steal, put a pitcher in, take a pitcher out.

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.

Safeco Field is a lot like a National League park. Because of that, we're more of a pitching-defensive type club. Anaheim and Oakland - and even Texas - are more offensive oriented. We're a club that doesn't blow anybody out, but at the same time we don't get blown out much. We're in most of the games.

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.

At the high school level, the coaches get these kids in revenue-driven sports and take them away from baseball. There's so much pressure on these kids to even play spring football. We need to get the African-American players back in the game, which I think would make it not only a better game, but more exciting and entertaining for everyone.

If I was involved with the NFL, I'd seriously consider adopting some of the rules used in Canada. I've heard, unofficially, of course, some NFL club owners have talked about adding a feature or two. The NFL went for the two-point conversion. Professional sport is entertainment, and the CFL, I believe, is ahead of the NFL in that regard.

We're making an adjustment to his arm action, and we want to see if he's making it.

We're getting better. We have players who are pretty focused.

Three years we felt very comfortable with. Going to a fourth year as the Mets went to, we didn't feel that comfortable,

Wait until the championship season gets going and judge for yourselves.

We're looking for a top-of-the-rotation guy, someone who can strike people out and stop losing streaks. I'm optimistic we can find one. They're available. It just depends on what you have to give them. You may have to overpay.

We were disappointed. At the same time, you can't say you're shocked or surprised that something like this would happen.

We had a very thorough examination. Unless something unforeseen occurs, we think he'll be healthy and ready to perform the entire 2006 season.

Omar's a talent guy. He sees talent, and he goes after it.

Signing Billy is our top priority. I've learned through experience there is nothing more demoralizing to a team than consistently losing a game in the late innings. Wagner is dominant. He's very important to what we want to do. Billy told me we are at the top of his list.

more of a staying-in-touch, passing-through sort of thing.

My goal is to pick one up here.

No, I don't think it's a problem at all. A lot of ballparks these days see home runs fly out of them. I don't think the ballpark will be a problem in luring players here. If anything, I've heard a lot of comments about what a beautiful ballpark it is.

Nunez gives us some versatility in that he can play three infield positions and is a switch-hitter.

Right now, I think it's a good situation, ... I think we're blessed to have two players with that sort of record and sort of ability with our ball club.

I don't know that he's got everything he had back then. I don't think he throws as hard. But our scouting reports still say he's an effective set-up man, and he's going to make our bullpen stronger.

I have always liked the AFL because it gives the best prospects in the game a chance to play against each other and polish their skills in a competitive environment. It also can give them confidence going into the next season if they do well. The results have been pretty darn good.

I don't think you can be too impulsive. At the right point, when you see a window open, then you gotta move. But until that window opens, don't try to open it yourself.

Given the situation, it's really a chance for everybody to show what they can do. He's been good both offensively and defensively. It's a good opportunity for him to show what he can do.

He's had a good spring. I don't think he could've done any better.

He's had a good spring. Coming into Spring Training, I didn't have any expectations for him, because he didn't have a good 2005 season, and didn't pitch particularly well in Puerto Rico. He exceeded my expectations, because he wasn't a guy who would've even been considered for somewhere in the pitching staff.

He doesn't figure into the rotation and inconsistency with his control makes it tough to put him in the bullpen. Maybe he needs a fresh start.

He's a blue-collar guy. And he's somebody that the public will like.

He's a competitor who pitches deep into ballgames and has been a consistent starter in the American League for the last few years. His innings show that he's been durable and he definitely adds depth to our rotation.

Going to a fourth year as the Mets went to, we didn't feel that comfortable. We were disappointed.

Going to a fourth year as the Mets went to, we didn't feel that comfortable, ... We were disappointed.

He's a versatile player. It's important to have guys on your team who can play multiple positions.

He's getting better. I thought this spring that he didn't indicate to me that he was that type of (one-dimensional) hitter. He indicated to me that he was a lot better.

He didn't figure into the rotation. His inconsistency with his control makes him a tough guy to have in the bullpen. We thought it was better that maybe he went someplace and got a fresh start.

He'd be the most likely guy in the group. But a lot depends on what we do leading up to Spring Training.

I think you're dealing in dangerous waters getting into four and five years with players. It's risky. I think it's very risky.

I think we have a lot of work to do in the minor league system. We have to restock the minor league system. We have to get all the clubs to .500 or better.

I want to win, and whatever the manager and the pitching coach think it takes, we'll go in that direction.

I will say this, sometimes it's addition by subtraction. That's sort of the way it is, but I don't want to knock somebody else.

Just a business, that's all. It's one of those twists.

Our corners are pretty good, ... In high school he played center, but I don't think he can play center anymore.

I still have the drive, the competitiveness, the passion.

I think Charlie has done a good job in keeping a good feeling and a good attitude in the clubhouse. The players are still very upbeat. We haven?t performed as well as we wanted from a pitching and offensive standpoint. But I don?t think that can be laid at the feet of the manager.

It doesn't make very good sense, and it's not like they don't have people who could play second base. With somebody playing out of position, all it takes is one hard slide and he could be done.

It doesn't hurt that I know him, but we made this trade based on our scouting reports from 2005. Arthur's got a good makeup. He's a gamer. He likes to win.

It didn't come out too well. How would you view it? As it turned out, it wasn't a good exchange.

It didn't come out too well for us. Obviously, it wasn't a very good trade.

Jimmy will be a replacement in the event that somebody goes down, be it Jeter or be it Rodriguez.

I'm so excited for Ryan. You certainly get only one opportunity for this honor. I'm so happy that he was selected.

Maybe I'm putting my neck on the line, but I think his is the best situation I've come into. I think (fired GM) Ed Wade certainly left behind a strong foundation.

My challenge is to try to coax five more wins out of this team to try to get us into the playoffs. Once you get into the playoffs, as we all know, you never know what happens.

When I was 32 I thought I was pretty smart, too,

When you retire completely, it's almost a ticket to the funeral home. You have to keep your mind active. I still have the passion. I still love to compete. I can see myself doing this for five more years if my health holds up.

We have to keep plugging along and try to improve our club. I like our nine players on the field a whole bunch. The areas we have to shore up are the front end of our rotation and the back end of the bullpen. Those are the areas we're concentrating on. We're certainly working at it.

Usually, when you come into a situation like this,

We have a very generous budget, ... We have sufficient money to do the things we need to do. We have to be imaginative and allocate the money properly.

Those are a couple of great acquisitions by the Mets. They have strengthened themselves. It's going to make them more of a force to be dealt with in the East.

Those are a couple of great acquisitions by the Mets, ... They have strengthened themselves. It's going to make them more of a force to be dealt with in the East.

Tom had a lot of passion for his job and for the Blue Jays, he was like Cal Ripken, ... He showed up day in, day out, rain or shine, day or night. He worked at his profession from day one until the final broadcast.

We're trying to get over the hump, and he's a big part of it,

There are a lot of positives that have happened that make our club better than it was in February.

We're trying to add more depth to our pitching staff and give Charlie more people to look at in spring training.

We thought it was a pretty soft market. The market was overpriced.

The only time I really have to worry is sometimes I'm off thinking about something and walk through a green light and almost get hit by a car.

Fans here are rabid, ... It's important that you connect to them.

We'll have to visually observe what he looks like. We'll get a pretty good idea over the next couple of days where he is.

We had a good situation with Howard and Thome here,

We just felt this situation fit in the direction we wanted to go. We wanted to solidify the back end of the bullpen and we think Rhodes helps us do that.

We're disappointed. We thought we had a competitive offer.

Bobby and John kind of came from the same background,

These are two key acquisitions. It's going to make them even more of a force to be dealt with in the East.

The team we have, we're going to be competitive. Are we going to win the division? No. We have to improve.

The talent in the American League is better than the National League. I had the opportunity with Seattle last year to see some National League games, and thought it overall wasn't the same.

The thing you learn over the years is to delegate a lot more. Not that you're not involved, but you delegate. If you have confidence in people around you, then you feel free to delegate.

I've always had a love for the game. I have a passion for the game. I love challenges. I was very satisfied with what I was doing. Some other club, I probably wouldn't have gone back for, not just for the job. I thought this was a good situation and good opportunity.

People seemed more interested in their martinis than me,

Arthur helps strengthen our bullpen, which is one of the areas we felt needed to be addressed.

A year from now you can ask me that. My job is to try to coach and make people better.

They seem to be a little bit more under control than usual.

There might be somebody out there that could provide us with a player that might fulfill some of the needs that we have. . . . I don't say you have to move these players but at least investigate every opportunity that might improve another area of your ball club.

They have some talent but it's going to be a very difficult situation for them. They'll be frustrated because of the losing in the short term. But in a couple of years they'll be OK. I'll tell you what -- I wish I had some of the players they have over there.

I told Pope that I wished I could trade for the 40th guy on his (40-man) roster,

It's a possibility -- not a probability, but a possibility.

Ed Wade put together the foundation of a good ball club here,

Everyone is all smiles today. I want to go home smiling 100 times this year. That's only 16 times a month.

Everybody needs pitching. There's not a lot of pitchers out there, ... So supply and demand.

Everybody's looking for pitching and there's not a lot of pitching out on the market. Consequently, it's economics.

Everybody sits at home and gets the advantage of replays. If they want to huddle together for five minutes to get the play right, they could replay it in the same period of time or a shorter period of time and get it right.

The average annual value of a contract doesn't bother me as much as the length. In a 5-year contract, somebody is usually disappointed. If a player performs well, he feels he's underpaid. If he doesn't, the club feels like it got a raw deal. And, with pitchers, you're dealing with the injury factor. You need flexibility. You need to be able to change your roster around.