Motivation Quote by Alvin Dark

“Friendships are forgotten when the game begins” lands with the clean sting of a clubhouse truth: affection is real, but competition is realer. Coming from Alvin Dark, a no-nonsense middle infielder and later manager, it reads less like trash talk and more like an operating principle for anyone who has to perform under pressure while surrounded by people he genuinely likes.

The intent is disciplinary. Dark isn’t romanticizing rivalry; he’s drawing a boundary that protects focus. Sports are full of forced intimacy - long seasons, shared travel, inside jokes that harden into bonds. But once the first pitch is thrown, that social fabric becomes a potential liability. The line warns against playing “nice,” the subtle self-censorship that happens when you don’t want to embarrass a friend, spike him too hard on a slide, or exploit the scouting report you know will hurt him.

The subtext is colder: friendship can be a luxury, even a story we tell ourselves to soften a workplace that is fundamentally transactional. In pro ball, your buddy is also your competition for a roster spot, a bonus, a reputation. Dark’s phrasing - “forgotten” - isn’t “paused” or “set aside.” It implies a deliberate amnesia, a mental switch that turns people into problems to solve.

Context matters here. Dark played and managed in an era that prized hard edges: fewer cameras, more grudges, a code that valued professionalism over sentiment. The quote carries that mid-century ethos: respect your opponent, sure. Just don’t let liking them cost you the game.