--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was not successful as a ball player, as…" description: "\"I was not successful as a ball player, as it was a game of skill.\" — Casey Stengel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/casey-stengel-2534_ball-player_i-was-not-successful-as-a-ball-player-as_2871784.jpg" --- # I was not successful as a ball player, as it was a game of… ![“I was not successful as a ball player, as it was a game of skill.” quote by Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/casey-stengel-2534_ball-player_i-was-not-successful-as-a-ball-player-as_2871784.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/casey-stengel-2534_ball-player_i-was-not-successful-as-a-ball-player-as_2871784.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/casey-stengel-2534_ball-player_i-was-not-successful-as-a-ball-player-as_2871784.jpg) > “I was not successful as a ball player, as it was a game of skill.” [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lack of success in sports can stem from skill deficits rather than effort alone. **In simple terms:** Skill, not effort, determines success. Key Takeaway Develop necessary skills for goals. Themes sports skill development performance Mood realistic motivational Type sports self‑help When to use this quote - athletics - career planning - skill acquisition Key Concepts talent vs effort training methods Questions to Reflect On - What skills are essential for success? - How can you improve lacking abilities? A Different Perspective Hard work alone may not compensate for skill gaps. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Skill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skill/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) ## Related quotes > [My strength was probably more the mental side of the game rather than the skill side. I always had that self-belief that I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-mcgrath/my-strength-was-probably-more-the-mental-side-of-the-game-rather-than/) [Glenn McGrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-mcgrath/) > [Commerce is a game of skill which everyone cannot play and few can play well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/commerce-is-a-game-of-skill-which-everyone-cannot-play-and-few-can/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“War is a primarily a game of skill. It is a Contest of mind matched against mind, tactics matched against tactics. But there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn-star-wars-thrawn/war-is-a-primarily-a-game-of-skill-it-is-a-contest-of-mind-matched/) [Timothy Zahn, Star Wars: Thrawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn-star-wars-thrawn/) > [Get off, you look ugly (to a blood splattered player during a game)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/get-off-you-look-ugly-to-a-blood-splattered-player-during-a-game/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [I am not a player...I'm the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-not-a-player-i-m-the-game/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [-Boy you can e a player, But I'm not your game board...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/boy-you-can-e-a-player-but-i-m-not-your-game-board/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as my idols. If I can take a little of each player's game and make it my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/i-have-both-messi-and-cristiano-ronaldo-as-my-idols-if-i-can-take-a/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) > [You think Ill cry? You think Ill breakdown? Damn, youre wrong! I knew your games before, I just played along. If you think Im…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-think-ill-cry-you-think-ill-breakdown-damn-youre-wrong-i-knew/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't wanna be a fool for you Just another player in your game for two You may hate me but it ain't no lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nsync/don-t-wanna-be-a-fool-for-you-just-another-player-in-your-game-for/) [Nsync](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nsync/) > [Lee May's about the same age as me; he's got about the same stats. So how come he's making about one-eighty, two hundred thousand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-jackson/lee-may-s-about-the-same-age-as-me-he-s-got-about-the-same-stats-so/) [Reggie Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-jackson/) > [Basketball is a five-player game, only five people can play, but when you're growing up there's 10 players on a team usually and some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyrese-haliburton/basketball-is-a-five-player-game-only-five-people-can-play-but-when/) [Tyrese Haliburton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyrese-haliburton/) > [There will be a few people who will resent the fact you have to be online to play a single-player game. But it'll change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-willits/there-will-be-a-few-people-who-will-resent-the-fact-you-have-to-be/) Tim Willits > [I know I'm being an above-average, elite player in the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-pham/i-know-i-m-being-an-above-average-elite-player-in-the-game/) [Tommy Pham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-pham/) > [Maybe an orange card could be shown that sees a player go out of the game for 10 minutes for incidents that are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-van-basten/maybe-an-orange-card-could-be-shown-that-sees-a-player-go-out-of-the/) [Marco van Basten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-van-basten/) > [Remember one thing... you MIGHT be a player, but I AM THE GAME!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/remember-one-thing-you-might-be-a-player-but-i-am-the-game/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Casey Stengel > [We're in such a slump that even the ones that are drinkin' aren't hittin'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/we-re-in-such-a-slump-that-even-the-ones-that-are-drinkin-aren-t/) [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) > [ They say he's \[Yogi Berra\] funny. Well, he has a lovely wife and family, a beautiful home, money in the bank, and he plays… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/they-say-he-s-yogi-berra-funny-well-he-has-a-lovely-wife-and-family-a/) [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) > [Everybody line up alphabetically according to your height.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/everybody-line-up-alphabetically-according-to-your-height/) [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) > [Well, that's baseball. Rags to riches one day and riches to rags the next. But I've been in it 36 years and I'm used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/well-that-s-baseball-rags-to-riches-one-day-and-riches-to-rags-the/) [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) > [No baseball pitcher would be worth a darn without a catcher who could handle the hot fastball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/no-baseball-pitcher-would-be-worth-a-darn-without-a-catcher-who-could/) [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) > [I made up my mind, but I made it up both ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/i-made-up-my-mind-but-i-made-it-up-both-ways/) [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) > [They say some of my stars drink whiskey, but I have found that ones who drink milkshakes don't win many ball games.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/they-say-some-of-my-stars-drink-whiskey-but-i-have-found-that-ones/) [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) > [If you walk backwards, you'll find out you can go forwards and people won't know if you're coming or going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/if-you-walk-backwards-you-ll-find-out-you-can-go-forwards-and-people/) [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) > [The secret of successful managing is to keep the five guys who hate you away from the four guys who haven't made up their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/the-secret-of-successful-managing-is-to-keep-the-five-guys-who-hate/) [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) > [The trouble is not that players have sex the night before a game. It's that they stay out all night looking for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/the-trouble-is-not-that-players-have-sex-the-night-before-a-game-it-s/) [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) > [Two hundred million Americans, and there ain't two good catchers among 'em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/two-hundred-million-americans-and-there-ain-t-two-good-catchers-among/) [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) > [Never make bad predictions, especially about the futture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/never-make-bad-predictions-especially-about-the-futture/) [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) > [I was once asked what it takes to be a great manager...my response? Great players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/i-was-once-asked-what-it-takes-to-be-a-great-manager-my-response/) [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) > [If you ran a delicatessen store, you would want to be the best delicatessen store, wouldn't you? Well, that's how I feel about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/if-you-ran-a-delicatessen-store-you-would-want-to-be-the-best/) [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) > [You can't go out to the mound, hobbling and take a pitcher out with a cane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/you-can-t-go-out-to-the-mound-hobbling-and-take-a-pitcher-out-with-a/) [Casey Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) [Explore all 162 Casey Stengel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/) ## More Ball player quotes > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [There is no doubt in my mind and I know in my time, there will be a Canadian basketball player playing for Toronto Raptors, 100%](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-and-i-know-in-my-time-there-will-be-a/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [I have friends in other industries but if I am training for a wrestling match, I would turn to the best wrestler to train,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-aries/i-have-friends-in-other-industries-but-if-i-am-training-for-a/) [Austin Aries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-aries/) > [And I want to do it the right way, like everybody else, not just a famous figurehead that gets a job because he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/and-i-want-to-do-it-the-right-way-like-everybody-else-not-just-a/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I competed every day as a professional football player... You've got to like competing. That's how your team gets better, when you have competition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herm-edwards/i-competed-every-day-as-a-professional-football-player-you-ve-got-to/) [Herm Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herm-edwards/) > [“I can’t wait to knock you up and have a whole team of little baseball players around this place!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-sterling/i-can-t-wait-to-knock-you-up-and-have-a-whole-team-of-little-baseball/) [J. Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-sterling/) > [MOST AMAZING FOOTBALL PLAYER IN THE ENTIRE WORLD && IN REAL MADRID](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-amazing-football-player-in-the-entire-world-in-real-madrid/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My older brothers were both basketball players so I just grew up around the gym.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brook-lopez/my-older-brothers-were-both-basketball-players-so-i-just-grew-up/) [Brook Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brook-lopez/) > [I'm a basketball player, so I want to do whatever I've got to do to be on the floor and I'm prepared for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyrese-haliburton/i-m-a-basketball-player-so-i-want-to-do-whatever-i-ve-got-to-do-to-be/) [Tyrese Haliburton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyrese-haliburton/) > [“Seeing yourself in print is such an amazing concept: you can get so much attention without having to actually show up somewhere. While others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/seeing-yourself-in-print-is-such-an-amazing-concept-you-can-get-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People say baseball players should go out and have fun. No way. To me, baseball is pressure, I always feel it. This is work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-eckersley/people-say-baseball-players-should-go-out-and-have-fun-no-way-to-me/) [Dennis Eckersley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-eckersley/) > [Canada is a country whose main exports are hockey players and cold fronts. Our main imports are baseball players and acid rain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/canada-is-a-country-whose-main-exports-are-hockey-players-and-cold/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [“The great thing about baseball players, from the point of view of personal hygiene, is how seldom they break a sweat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/the-great-thing-about-baseball-players-from-the-point-of-view-of/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [A lot of scouts and people are enamored with athleticism and youth. So they take that any day over mature, high-quality basketball players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-brogdon/a-lot-of-scouts-and-people-are-enamored-with-athleticism-and-youth-so/) [Malcolm Brogdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-brogdon/) > [I'm a baseball player. I've done this my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sale/i-m-a-baseball-player-i-ve-done-this-my-whole-life/) [Chris Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sale/) Browse all 1,395 Ball player quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was not successful as a ball player, as it was a game of skill.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Casey Stengel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/i-was-not-successful-as-a-ball-player-as-it-was-a-game-of-skill/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ball player" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/i-was-not-successful-as-a-ball-player-as-it-was-a-game-of-skill/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/casey-stengel-2534_ball-player_i-was-not-successful-as-a-ball-player-as_2871784.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/casey-stengel-2534_ball-player_i-was-not-successful-as-a-ball-player-as_2871784.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/casey-stengel-2534_ball-player_i-was-not-successful-as-a-ball-player-as_2871784.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was not successful as a ball player, as it was a game of skill.” — Casey Stengel", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Casey Stengel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stengel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was not successful as a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/i-was-not-successful-as-a-ball-player-as-it-was-a-game-of-skill/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stengel/i-was-not-successful-as-a-ball-player-as-it-was-a-game-of-skill/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```