Written by Mark Bailey
Baseball has always been a source of inspiration for all sorts of creative displays, from art to music and, most notably, movies. The sport’s colorful history filled with astounding moments and characters paved its way to becoming a part of America’s popular culture. And while baseball is often considered to be as much an art form as it is a sport, perhaps no medium captures the grandeur of America’s pastime quite like film.
Whether it’s an iconic one-liner from Bull Durham or a powerful speech from Field Of Dreams, we’ve compiled some of the best baseball movie quotes ever uttered onscreen for your reading pleasure! So cuddle up with your popcorn, crack open a cold beer (or pitcher), and let’s get ready to enjoy the best baseball movie quotes of all time—together!
Famous Quotes of All Time
“You’re killing me, Smalls!” —Ham Porter, The Sandlot (1993)
“Pick me out a winner, Bobby.” —Roy Hobbs, The Natural (1984)
“If you build it, he will come.” —Kevin Costner, Field of Dreams (1989)
“There’s no crying in baseball!” —Jimmy Dugan, A League of Their Own (1992)
“Do you know what we get to do today Brooks? We get to play baseball.” —Jim Morris, The Rookie (2002)
“People all say that I’ve had a bad break. But today, today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.” —Gary Cooper, Pride of the Yankees (1942)
“Remember, kid, there’s heroes and there’s legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Follow your heart, kid, and you’ll never go wrong.” —The Babe (Babe Ruth), The Sandlot (1993)
Love and Passion for the Game
“God, I love baseball.” —Robert Redford, The Natural (1984)
“I’d sell my soul for one long ball hitter.” —Joe Boyd, Damn Yankees! (1958)
“We’re not athletes, we’re baseball players!” —Jack Elliott, Mr. Baseball (1992)
“How can you not get romantic about baseball?” —Billy Beane, Moneyball (2011)
“Man, this is baseball, you gotta stop thinking! Just have fun.” —Benny Rodriguez, The Sandlot (1993)
“I love baseball. You know it doesn’t have to mean anything, it’s just beautiful to watch.” —Woody Allen, Zelig (1983)
“I’d wake up at night with the smell of the ball park in my nose, the cool of the grass on my feet… The thrill of the grass.” —Shoeless Joe Jackson, Field of Dreams (1989)
“Man, I did love this game. I’d have played for food money. It was the game… The sounds, the smells. Did you ever hold a ball or a glove to your face?” —Shoeless Joe Jackson, Field of Dreams (1989)
“I believe in the Church of Baseball. I’ve tried all the major religions and most of the minor ones…and the only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball.” —Annie Savoy, Bull Durham (1988)
“I love standing on that mound with a baseball in my hand…staring at a guy holdin’ a club 60 feet away…knowing…that he can’t touch me…It is the only place in the world that I feel powerful.” —Ryan Dunne, Summer Catch (2001)
Humor and Quirkiness
“”Juuuust a bit outside.” —Harry Doyle, Major League (1989)
“We’re both going to have to pray much harder!” —Esther Wrenn, Long Gone (1987)
“Pitcher’s got a big butt! Pitcher’s got a big butt!” —Henry Rowengartner, Rookie of the Year (1993)
“You’re the best thing to happen to baseball since Cracker Jack!” —Bob Carson, Rookie of the Year (1993)
“Anybody who uses computers doesn’t know a damn thing about this game.” —Gus Lobel, Trouble with the Curve (2012)
“There are rich teams and there are poor teams…then there’s 50 feet of crap, and then there’s us.” —Billy Beane, Moneyball (2011)
“I’m an escaped car thief. I broke out of prison to see the Cubs in the World Series.” —James Belushi, Taking Care of Business (1990)
“Hey Yankees! You can take your apology and your trophy and shove is straight up your ass!” —Tanner Boyle, The Bad News Bears (1976)
“Ahh, Jesus, I like him very much, but He no help with curveball.” —Pedro Cerrano; “Are you trying to say Jesus Christ can’t hit a curveball?” —Eddie Harris, Major League (1989)
“Remember, fans, Tuesday is Die Hard Night. Free admission for anyone who was actually alive the last time the Indians won the pennant.” —Harry Doyle, Major League (1989)
“You guys…you lollygag the ball around the infield. You lollygag your way down to first. You lollygag in and out of the dugout. You know what that makes you? Lollygaggers!” —Skip & Larry, Bull Durham (1988)
“God, I always said I would never bother you about baseball, Lord knows you have bigger things to worry about. But if you could make this pain in my shoulder stop for ten minutes, I would really appreciate it.” —Billy Chapel, For Love of the Game (1999)
“Your shower shoes have fungus on ’em. You’ll never make it to the Bigs with fungus on your shower shoes. Think classy, you’ll be classy. If you win 20 in the show, you can let the fungus grow back on your shower shoes and the press will think you’re colorful. Until you win 20 in the show however, it means you’re a slob.” —Crash Davis, Bull Durham (1988)
Motivation & Perseverance
“You think losing is fun?” —Billy Beane, Moneyball (2011)
“Baseball is very hard.” —Dinesh Patel, Million Dollar Arm (2014)
“It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard… is what makes it great.” —Jimmy Dugan, A League of Their Own (1992)
“Well I can’t rightly say (which player hit the ball hardest), but the ones (home runs by Babe) Ruth hit got smaller quicker.” —Walter Johnson, Ken Burns Baseball (1994)
“I’m just happy to be here. Hope I can help the ball club. I know. Write it down. I just want to give it my best shot, and the good Lord willing, things will work out.” —Crash Davis, Bull Durham (1988)
“I used to believe, I still do, that if you give something your all it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, as long as you’ve risked everything put everything out there. And I’ve done that. I did it my entire life.” —Billy Chapel, For Love of the Game (1999)
“The one constant through all the years has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again.” —James Earl Jones, Field of Dreams (1989)
Winning and Competition
“Win the whole f—in’ thing.” —Jake Taylor, Major League (1989)
“You get on base, we win. You don’t, we lose.” —Billy Beane, Moneyball (2011)
“All the arguing in the world can’t change the decision of the umpire.” —Lou Gehrig, Pride of the Yankees (1942)
“Everything around here is a competition. You get a bunch of competitors together and you are addicted to winning.” —Finnegan, Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
“I love winning, I f***ing love winning! You know what I’m saying? It’s, like, better than losing? Teach me something new, man, I need to learn. Teach me something.” —Ebby Calvin LaLoosh, Bull Durham (1988)
“A good friend of mine used to say, ‘This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.’ Think about that for a while.” —Ebby Calvin LaLoosh, Bull Durham (1988)
“The key to being a big league pitcher is the 3 R’s: readiness, recuperation, and conditioning. You see, after the game, a lot of guys like to ice up their arm. Still, other fellas think that heat is the way to go. But I have discovered the secret, Henry: hot ice. That’s right: hot ice. I heat up — the ice cubes. It’s the best of both worlds.” Phil Brickman, Rookie of The Year (1993)
Inspirational and Philosophical Quotes
“This quitting thing, it’s a hard habit to break once you start.” —Coach Morris Buttermaker, The Bad News Bears (1976)
“I’m Crash Davis; I’m your new catcher, and you just got lesson number one; Don’t think. You can only hurt the ball club.” —Crash Davis, Bull Durham (1988)
“There are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary. And there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance.” —Annie Savoy, Bull Durham (1988)
“I don’t care if they like me. I didn’t come here to make friends. I don’t even care if they respect me. I know who I am. I’ve got enough respect for myself.” —Jackie Robinson, 42 (2013)
“Quit trying to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring and besides that, they’re fascist. Throw some ground balls. They’re more democratic.” —Crash Davis, Bull Durham (1988)
“You can’t go through life thinking everyone you meet will one day let you down. Because if you do, a very bad thing will happen. You’ll end up like me.” —George Knox, Angels in the Outfield (1994)
“We just don’t recognize life’s most significant moments while they’re happening. Back then I thought, “Well, there’ll be other days.” I didn’t realize that that was the only day.” —Dr. Archibald “Moonlight” Graham, Field of Dreams (1989)
“You know what’s really great about baseball? You can’t fake it. You know, anything else in life you don’t have to be great in – business, music, art – I mean you can get lucky…not baseball. You can either hit a curveball or you can’t.” —Ben, Fever Pitch (2005)
“I still get such a bang out of it, playing ball. Same as I did when I first come up. You get out there and the stands are full and everybody is cheering. It is like everybody in the world come to see you. Inside that there is the players in there and their yakking it up and the pitcher throws and your looking for that pill and suddenly there is nothing else in the ballpark and it and sometimes when your feeling right and there is a groove there and the bat just eases into it and meets that ball. When the bat meets that ball you can feel that ball just give and you know it is going to go a long way. Damn, if you don’t feel like your going to live forever.” —John Cusac as Buck Weaver, Eight Men Out (1988)
Which quotes hold a special place in your heart?
As baseball continues to modify and evolve over the years, the movie quotes that originated in its timeline will continue to remain timeless. Whether it’s an iconic one-liner from Bull Durham or a powerful speech from Field of Dreams, they are an inspiration and a source of guidance in our darkest times. These pastime movies have managed to capture and encompass the true spirit of baseball: love and passion for the game, humor, and quirkiness, motivation and perseverance, inspiration and philosophy. And we hope these quotes have been able to bring some cheer into your life today!
At its heart, baseball is really all about having fun. If you’re looking for a little extra motivation or simply in need of some pick-me-up from your all-time favorite baseball movies, these quotes should do the trick! Which quotes hold a special place in your heart? Don’t forget to share this blog post with your friends so they, too can discover some of the best lines from baseball movies ever created!