Quotes by Tony Oliva

I think it's great with all the opportunities that those players have now. By the time those kids here come here, they are ready for Rookie league or Class A league or whatever, because we can keep them (at the academies) for a couple years until we think they are ready to come here, and that makes a big difference.

I think that the game is the game. I think that expansion is good for the game because it gives more jobs to the people and more ballplayers can play, but I think the game is still the game. The ballplayers, they come into the game with one thing in mind -- it's their job.

The people who run the game, they are the ones who want to change it and make people believe that it's different somehow. It's not different, the only difference is that some ballplayers today have a chance for a four- or five-year contract and they can make big money.