Baseball sayings from baseball dads

My father was by far the biggest influence on my baseball career.  I’m sure a lot of people can say the same thing.  I’m sure there is a cave drawing somewhere showing a cave-dad having a stone catch with his son.  He probably grunted “keep your elbow up!” too.

My dad had a saying for practically every situation in baseball.  Still does in fact.  Whenever we talk baseball, the sayings come out one by one all over again.  Here are some that are burned into my memory. Of course, my son is now hearing them from me!

“If it was close enough to be called a strike, it was close enough to swing.”

“You win some, you lose some, and some get rained out.”

After an error … “I could go out there right now and catch that grounder with my bare hands.”

“The umps stink, go play.”

“If you throw balls, your infielders will hate you.”

“Attack the baseball. Don’t just make contact.”

“Baseball will drive you nuts if you let it.”

“Baseball players make good people.”

“Choke up, move closer to the plate, and put the ball in play with two strikes.”

“There is always someone watching you.”

“Nobody should know if you went 4-4 or 0-4 by watching you.”

“Never let the umpire take the bat out of your hands.”

“Make sure of one out.”

“Always back up the throw to the pitcher.”

“Never take your eyes off the ball when you are on a field.”

“Watch the runners touch the bases.”

On a ball hit straight up … “That’s a home run in an elevator shaft.”

After a player drops a ball … “Let some air out of that glove.”

After I dropped a pop-up … “Don’t worry, it took a bad hop.”

Here are a few more from my friends’ dads …

“Swing hard in case you hit it.”

“Run as hard as you can to first….if you come to bat 4 times….that’s only 4 sprints….that’s the least you can do for your team.”

“Sprint to your position….in a 7 inning game….that’s 14 sprints….and there’s your conditioning for the day.”

“Throw the ball to the mitt….once you let it go….the result is nothing but dumb luck. Don’t take it personally.”

“You’ll never know if you could of gotten to the ball unless you dive.”

Happy Father’s Day to all those baseball dads out there who taught us to love and respect the game!

Note: Three posts this week!  Monday, Wednesday, Friday.  All about baseball dads!