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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: ASTROS VS RED SOX

October 18, 2018

Jackie Bradley Jr.

Houston, Texas - postgame 5

Red Sox - 4, Astros - 1

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the ALCS MVP.

Q. Just put into words what this means to you.
JACKIE BRADLEY JR.: Speechless. It's amazing. I have amazing teammates, amazing staff. Everybody's such a blessing.

This is what we set out to do when we come to spring training. And we battled -- we've been battle tested, played against a lot of great ball teams. This is definitely a special moment.

Q. When did you know this team was going to be special?
JACKIE BRADLEY JR.: Spring training. Spring training. You just have that feel. We had a lot of talent in the room. And it was just those extra pieces to allow us to get to where we wanted and needed to be.

But I honestly feel at the beginning, like I said, when we set out, since day one, we knew we had something special. We just needed to stay healthy and go out and execute.

Q. At what point tonight did you realize that a David Price we haven't seen before on the mound starting in the postseason was showing up?
JACKIE BRADLEY JR.: The whole game. From pitch one. I just had that feeling tonight was going to be that night for him. And I couldn't ask for a better teammate, the way he's battled through and the whole postseason talk, this and that. I think it really shows the determination and the competitor that's inside of him to come out here and do it against arguably the top two, three teams in baseball. We needed that performance from him tonight.

I feel like he needed that performance for him tonight. And I don't think he's going to forget it. I know I'm not.

Q. The way you swung the bat in this series, how did you feel coming into this series? And is this the definition of being locked in?
JACKIE BRADLEY JR.: I felt good. I felt good. I think it kind of just all boils down to having a game plan and obviously executing. You can have a game plan but sometimes it might not work out. But as a batter you want to swing at good pitches. You want to swing at pitches you can handle.

And defensively, you want to try to make all the plays you possibly can in order to help the team. And don't want to give away any outs. We're playing against some really good ball teams here. So runs and outs are at a premium.

Q. Not many rookie managers get to the World Series in their first year. What's impressed you most, what's the best part of Alex as a manager, and what was it like to deliver this pennant to him on his birthday?
JACKIE BRADLEY JR.: It was pretty cool. It's a -- there's a ton of things. That's what makes him special. His ability to communicate with us, relate with us. We feel like he can be one of the guys, but we also understand his leadership, his role, who he is. He takes control. He makes sure that we continue to keep pressing forward.

He spoke about every single day, turn the page, turn the page, moving on to the next step, not dwelling on the past, what can we do for the present and what's going to help out for the future.

Q. What's this moment like for your generation of Red Sox to continue what Damon and Big Papi and all those other guys just to keep it going in Boston, which, as you know, is pretty important?
JACKIE BRADLEY JR.: Yeah, it's huge. We have a lot of support. And the guys in the clubhouse are tremendous, tremendous. We've got great people, first, and also great players. It's huge to be able to continue the trend of winning. Obviously we want to win it all. That's what we set out to do. And we've got four more.

Q. Boston is different than other places. And not everybody loves it there. But what's the challenge, and what's the pleasure of doing something like this in a place where baseball season's every night of the year?
JACKIE BRADLEY JR.: Like you said, they're fanatics. They love their sports -- New England. They're big-time supporters. And when you're not doing your best, they'll let you know about that, too.

But I think it comes with the territory. You want to be a part of something great. You want to be winners. You want to be known as winners. And you don't want to accept mediocrity.

And I understand. I feel the same way. I only want to be the best I possibly can be.

Q. Building on that idea, it was five years ago when the Red Sox won it all, and they let their veterans center fielder walk largely because they had faith in you to be their center fielder of the future. And what does it feel like now to have this moment to kind of reward that faith and have their faith?
JACKIE BRADLEY JR.: Yes, it's very rewarding. You always set out to do, possibly do everything that you can in order to stay up here and compete, help win any way possible.

It's a lot of work. It doesn't come easy. And I want to continue to work, perfect my craft and hopefully keep on winning.

Q. When you have a lineup that is as deep as you guys have, can you sense how exhausting that can be for pitchers? Can you tell that by looking out there?
JACKIE BRADLEY JR.: Yeah, you've got guys battling up and down the lineup making pitchers throw multiple pitchers. I distinctively remember Christian having a really good at-bat, fouling off pitches against Verlander tonight. And at the end of the game that can take not only a physical toll but a mental toll. When you're making your pitches and he's constantly fighting it off, fighting it off, making you throw that extra pitch, you might get them out, but you feel like you did something to wear them down and a great pitcher like him.

Q. I know you guys try to keep the focus strictly on the field, but how much, if any, motivation did the team derive from knowing that Houston had somebody removed from the photographer's well before Game 1 of the ALCS or during Game 1 of the ALCS who was pointing a phone in your dugout? Did you get any motivation, any animus?
JACKIE BRADLEY JR.: No, we just wanted to win, regardless. It don't matter what the circumstances are. Our main focus is winning and I think that's all of our mindset going into it. We don't let the outside distractions bother us. We try to focus on what we've got to do and take care of business.

Q. You were in a tight 1-0 game when Devers home run goes out and it's all of a sudden 4-1 lead. Do you start in your mind counting outs and feeling like it's really getting close?
JACKIE BRADLEY JR.: You definitely can't count outs at that particular moment. Those guys over there have proven that they can put up runs just as quick as anybody in the game. They're a very talented group and they're going to compete to the last out. There's no give-it-up.

So we knew that we still needed to buckle down, needed to take care of business and try to get as many outs as we can as quick as possible.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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