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MLB WORLD SERIES: METS VS ROYALS

October 31, 2015

Edinson Volquez

Flushing, New York - Royals postgame four

Royals - 5 Mets - 3

EDINSON VOLQUEZ: I just want to thank everybody here for their support and worrying about me. And thank you for your support. I really appreciate it.

Q. After what certainly has been a tough week for you, how excited are you to take the mound tomorrow night with a chance to clinch the World Series?
EDINSON VOLQUEZ: Excited. When you win a game like the World Series, it's a dream come true. I think everybody feels the same way. I feel very excited and happy to win the game. We have a chance tomorrow to win the whole thing. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Q. Since you pitched last, have you done anything baseball related? And if you haven't --
EDINSON VOLQUEZ: I threw a little bit yesterday, back home in the Dominican. I played catch a little bit. And as soon as I got here today, I played catch in the batting cage.

Q. What are your emotions going to be like on the mound tomorrow when you get out there?
EDINSON VOLQUEZ: I think they're going to be very exciting. I just want to thank God for my opportunity tomorrow to be on the mound and show the world what I have to compete with other team and give our a chance our team to win. I'm pretty sure my dad is going to be proud of me when I pitch tomorrow on the mound. We'll see.

Q. It was a very difficult situation when you pitched in Game 1, obviously. Were you okay with the way it was all handled?
EDINSON VOLQUEZ: Yeah, I think that was the best way to tell me because I didn't even know. If they had told me before the game start, if my wife told me before that, I don't even know if I'm going to be able to pitch. She decided to tell me later. And I think that was the right choice because like I say, I don't think I am going to be able to pitch that day if I find out before the game.

Q. Will you honor your father in any way tomorrow? Will you write his name on the uniform?
EDINSON VOLQUEZ: Inside my hat. Put it inside my hat or in my glove. I haven't done it yet, but tomorrow maybe I will.

Q. What can you tell us about your father? What kind of person he was? What kind of influence he had on your life?
EDINSON VOLQUEZ: He was everything for me. He was one of the greatest men. I remember he bought me my first glove and my first spikes, brought me to the field. He knew that's what I want to be, I want to be a baseball player. And he gave me a lot of support and he buy everything for me. He put me in the right way.

Q. Speaking of all your father did for you when you were younger, how much would it mean for you to go out in your first game after this tragedy and to clinch the World Series championship for you?
EDINSON VOLQUEZ: For me I wish he could be here right now and enjoy every game that I pitch. And tomorrow I'm going to be thinking of my mom, and the rest of my family is going to be so happy to see me pitch. My mom told me before I got here: "Go over there and enjoy the game like you always do and be proud. We are proud of you. And be proud and make people proud, more proud than they are. And your dad passed away," and she told me, "He passed away, but he was really happy to see you pitch in the Big Leagues, your dream." He was real proud.

Q. You've been away from the club but you've seen what happened tonight over and over again this year in Kansas City. What were your emotions as you watched that eighth inning?
EDINSON VOLQUEZ: It was really exciting. I was nervous little bit. Because we were down a couple of runs, and see the ground ball, I can't remember who -- Murphy wasn't able to catch the ball. And I got happy, I'm like, we're going to do it again. We've been doing it all year.

I think Johnny (Cueto) was more nervous, more than me a little bit. It's crazy, man. You never know what's going to happen in the ballgame. And I think -- that's how we play. That's the way we play. I think sometimes we got lucky a little bit.

Q. What time did you get to the stadium today?
EDINSON VOLQUEZ: Right before the game start. I drove from the airport and it was a lot of traffic. It was hard to get here. But I finally did and I'm really happy right now because we win.

Q. Just curious, when you did arrive, what kind of reception did you get from your teammates in the dugout? Did anybody say anything that stood out to you?
EDINSON VOLQUEZ: It was unreal. Hosmer and Moustakas and Chris Young, Rios, the whole team, they came out to see me. Dyson and all those guys were like, "Hey, man, we're excited to see you back on the team."

I never thought I would get so much love from a lot of people, even outside of the clubhouse and out of baseball. And I was like, Wow, I've got a lot of people that really care about what happened to me. And it's a great feeling.

Q. It must have been very hard to decide whether you could come back to pitch. I wonder how you made that decision and when you were able to get to that point?
EDINSON VOLQUEZ: I told them I was going to be ready to play, if they need me. And when I got here today Ned told me that, "Hey, are you able to pitch?" I said, "Yeah, that's why I'm here. I want to pitch. I want to make people proud." That's what I love, period. That's the only thing I know. And I was like, I thought about it in the dugout. And Johnny goes, like, "Hey, you going to pitch tomorrow?" And I say, "You want pitch?" He said, "No. That's your game now, and make your dad proud." That's what he told me. I said, "All right. I'm going to take the ball tomorrow. It's going to be exciting."

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