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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: ASTROS VS RED SOXOctober 17, 2018Mookie BettsJ.D. MartinezHouston, Texas - postgame 4 Red Sox - 8, Astros - 6 THE MODERATOR: Questions for J.D. and Mookie. Q. Mookie, could you take us through that catch, and did you know immediately that the ump called it interference just take us through the whole thing. MOOKIE BETTS: I was just kind of going back, and I got a good jump on it. And I was pretty positive I was going to be able to catch it. But as I jumped and went over, reached my hand up, I felt like somebody was kind of pushing my glove out of the way or something. And I got to see a little bit of the replay. I guess they were going to catch the ball and pushed my glove out of the way. I didn't know it was called an out. That's why I got it and threw it home. I guess he got the call right. Q. Did you happen to glance back up there for the rest of the game, or did you just play your position? MOOKIE BETTS: No, I just played my position. You hear people talking stuff. I just turned around and smiled at them. But other than that I just played the position. Q. J.D., what does it mean to you to be on the cusp of advancing to the World Series and eliminating the world champions? J.D. MARTINEZ: Huge. We knew this was going to be a tough fight coming in. I think you have two really good, very equal teams. And we knew that it was going to be a challenge and a fight. And to be so close like this is huge. And it's an opportunity that we have to take advantage of. Q. Mookie, were you surprised that Joe called that interference? And as they showed the replays on the video board were you expecting them to keep the call the same? MOOKIE BETTS: I don't think I was surprised because I knew I was going to catch it. So I guess you could say I was kind of surprised that he -- I've never seen or been part of a play like that. So I guess, yeah, you could say I was kind of surprised he made the out call. And as I watched the video, it's like he got it right because I feel like it was going in my glove for sure. Q. As he did, did you think you were going to get as close as you did? Did you think all the way off the bat that that's a ball you can catch? MOOKIE BETTS: That was a ball I could catch. I'm 100 percent positive I was going to be able to catch that one. Q. Also the outfield defense, you guys have been general. All three of you all year long. But how much pride do you three take in the defense? And if you could comment a little on Andrew's play at the end? MOOKIE BETTS: We take all the pride in the world. It wins games like it did today. It's just one of those things where it just takes effort. We're all athletes that give effort. And J.D. wants to be a part of us but we told him -- J.D. MARTINEZ: Yeah, I was about to say four. He said three. There's four of us. (Laughter). MOOKIE BETTS: We've got guys that go out and just go out and make sure we take care of the defense at least. Q. Mookie, do you think there should be some separation between fans and the wall so you can make a catch like that and also for safety purposes for you in case someone knocked your arm or something? MOOKIE BETTS: No, I think it's just part of the game. Just one of those things where it doesn't happen often. So it's just a great fan experience. And we can interact with the fans with them being close, too, good and bad ways. It's just one of those things where it was just a freak accident. Q. J.D., Alex talked about the fact that like this is a league where someone can hit 40 home runs and hit like .200 and you can be rewarded for that. Like, especially for you two guys, hitting .300-plus, how much of a statement does that make in the postseason? And also just being good for the game in general to make contact for you guys to win, but also for entertainment purposes? J.D. MARTINEZ: I think our lineup, and especially me and Mookie, I think we take pride in hitting the ball and considering ourselves hitters first and sluggers second. As far as the entertaining part of it, that's debatable. That's something you can argue. What's more debatable, people -- home runs or singles? What do people want to see type deal? But that's a different topic. As far as for us I know we take a lot of pride in preparing, game planning and going out there and being hitters. Q. Mookie, since it's impossible for the rest of us to fathom what it's like to make a catch like, that can you see the fans when you're that close? Do you have a mental image? And could you physically feel your glove being pushed? MOOKIE BETTS: No, I can't see -- I don't exactly know what you mean by like -- Q. You're reaching up there -- MOOKIE BETTS: Oh, no, my eyes are locked on the ball, so I can't really see anything kind of going on. But I definitely felt like somebody pushed my glove out of the way. It may not have been on purpose, but definitely happened. And I was pretty positive that ball WAS going in my glove. Q. Mookie, when Tony hit that single down the right-field corner, what was your reaction when you saw him take off for second? And how would you rate that of all your throws? MOOKIE BETTS: That's probably my top, in the top three of my throws for sure. I didn't even see him going to second. I kind of knew off the bat he was going to go to second. It was one of those plays that I practiced so many times in spring training and it just came in the game. Q. You mentioned it takes effort to make some of these plays here in the postseason. Just walk us through that play as it pertains to just taking that kind of effort? MOOKIE BETTS: When it was hit, I think that's where a lot of -- the separator, when it's hit, your route to the ball and your effort getting to it, you have to be sprinting full speed. A lot of guys jog after it and just let it be a routine double. But I think, especially our outfield, we try and make those type of plays. That's why we have some gold glove candidates for sure. And I think that's where, one of those things where you just go out -- and you practice it so much in spring training and kind of throughout the season, too, it's just a matter of it showing up. Q. When you saw Benintendi make that catch, what comes to your mind the first time at that moment? J.D. MARTINEZ: Joy. We were going crazy. Obviously it was an incredible catch. And at an incredible time. It was huge. Q. Talk about tomorrow's game, Chris Sale cannot pitch tomorrow's game. Do you feel more pressure to make offense performance, to make sure you clinch the game tomorrow? MOOKIE BETTS: No, there's no pressure. We have to continue to go do what we've been doing the last games. And I think if we kind of add pressure, it makes us worse. We have to play loose and have fun and just continue to prepare and do what we've been doing. Q. J.D., playing with Mookie all year, what do you know about him that maybe you couldn't have known from playing against him? J.D. MARTINEZ: I think how complete he is, all around the game. Obviously when I was with Detroit, I think we played him one time when he was there. And I don't know, you really can't take it in when you're just in a couple of games you play against him. But I think just being next to him and just he does all the little things so well, from his defense, his base running, to his hitting. He takes a lot of pride in everything. And he's a humble guy. And that makes him who he is, really. Q. Have either of you spoken to Chris Sale since he came back to Houston, like what's he saying right now? Obviously he was sick and everything. Have either of you talked to him about what he went through and how much he wanted to pitch obviously tomorrow because he said he lost some weight and stuff like that too? J.D. MARTINEZ: I talked to him today in the weight room. Obviously he's bummed out because he feels like in a sense he's letting us down for tomorrow. But Chris is a guy who wants the baseball. And you kind of hurt for him because he's our ace. And you want to see him out there. You know that he wants to be out there. Obviously, the illness with his stomach or whatever he had really took a toll on him. He's lost some weight. And because of it he feels weak and kind of just gassed a little bit. But knowing Chris, he's going to be out there as soon as he can. Q. One last question about the non-catch or catch. You said they didn't say anything to you later, but did the fans say anything to you as you're kind of in the stands back there with them? MOOKIE BETTS: I don't know. As the play's going on. I kind of shut everything out, kind of focus on what's kind of going on. And when I saw the ball come back in, I just made sure I got it in, threw it in so nobody scored. That's when I saw Joe call him out, and I was kind of happy about it. THE MODERATOR: Thanks so much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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