All ballplayers should quit when it starts to feel as if all the baselines run uphill.
Babe RuthRead
It's hard to beat somebody when they don't give up.
Interpretation
Perseverance makes it difficult to overcome someone who keeps trying.
This quote emphasizes the importance of resilience and determination in achieving success. It highlights that the true challenge lies not in defeating opponents but in the relentless spirit of those who refuse to give up, suggesting that persistence is a key to overcoming obstacles.
In practice
During a motivational speech about sportsmanship.
All ballplayers should quit when it starts to feel as if all the baselines run uphill.
If it wasn't for baseball, I'd be in either the penitentiary or the cemetery. I have the same violent temper my father and older brother had. Both died of injuries from street fights in Baltimore, fights begun by flare-ups of their tempers.
Aw, everybody knows that game, the day I hit the homer off ole Charlie Root there in Wrigley Field, the day October first, the third game of that thirty-two World Series. But right now I want to settle all arguments. I didn't exactly point to any spot, like the flagpole. Anyway, I didn't mean to, I just sorta waved at the whole fence, but that was foolish enough. All I wanted to do was give that thing a ride... outta the park... anywhere.
Yesterday's home runs don't win today's games.
Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.
I only have one superstition: I make sure to touch all the bases when I hit a home run.
There is no excuse for not trying.
Without passion man is a mere latent force and possibility, like the flint which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark.
Stop telling people how far they have left to go. Instead tell them how far theyβve come.
I don't even know what I was running forβI guess I just felt like it.
I've come to believe that everything worth achieving is beyond one's capacity - or seems so at first. The thing is to persist, not back off, fight your fight, pay your dues, and carry on. Effort is all; continue and you may get there despite everything.
And where I excel is ridiculous, sickening, work ethic. You know, while the other guy's sleeping? I'm working.
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