It's nice to have writers write nice things about you and guys on radio and TV say nice things about you, but the guy who's in the locker next to you is the one you play the game for.
Interpretation
True appreciation comes from those closest to you rather than public acclaim.
In this quote, Joe Torre emphasizes the importance of camaraderie and mutual respect among teammates in sports. While public praise from media can be gratifying, the true measure of success and fulfillment in one's career lies in the respect and acknowledgment from those you work closely with, particularly in challenging and competitive environments.
In practice
In a team meeting, a coach might share this quote to remind players about the importance of support within the team.
We can learn from past failures and mistakes, but we shouldn't get stuck there. We can keep future goals in mind, but we shouldn't get stuck there, either. The only way to reach our potential is to focus on what we must do now - this moment, this day - to perform effectively and win.
I hated the Yankees and Dodgers and wound up managing both.
If all of us who love baseball and are doing our jobs, then those who get the game from us will be as proud to be a part of it as we were. And we are. This game is a gift, and I am humbled, very humbled, to accept its greatest honor.
When you coach Russ Smith, you have a nervous breakdown on every possession. He's not from a different country. He's from a different planet.
I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game. It will take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism. Tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set. Repair these losses, and be a blessing to us.
I don't need to come back to Wimbledon every year because I can't live without it. I'd be totally cool without tennis.
Playing tennis, I didn't tie in my self-worth into winning or losing matches.
You must understand as a kid of color in those days, the Harlem Globetrotters were like being movie stars.
May the sun never set on American baseball.
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