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MLB WORLD SERIES: DODGERS VS RED SOXOctober 24, 2018Brock HoltBoston, Massachusetts - pregame 2 Q. How do you keep sharp when you're not playing? BROCK HOLT: Just work on stuff during BP, stay in the cage. It's hard at times to come off the bench, especially late in games when you're facing guys with plus velocity, good breaking pitches. But you do your best to stay ready any way you can, whether it's hitting in the cage, whether it's is watching video. But AC and Ron do a good job of letting us know what they're thinking, certain situations where we might come in. So that makes it easier to prepare, to come into a situation in game. But it's just something that I've kind of been doing for a while now. Not playing every day. But getting in there quite often. So it's just kind of keep doing what you're doing. Q. You just said it's hard sometimes coming off the bench late in a game. So what do you think of what Nuñez did last night? BROCK HOLT: I loved it. Yeah, I loved it. Obviously you're not going to hit a three-run homer every time, but he knew what the deal was. It goes back to AC kind of telling him what's going on, "You're not starting today but be ready," and he was ready. To see his preparation during the game to get to that point, hitting in the cage, watching video, it was professional. And that was a huge hit for us. Whenever you can go into a game and impact a game like that with one at-bat, you've done your job. Obviously you're not going to do that every time. But try to put together a good at-bat and he did that for us last night. Q. Brad Stevens of the Celtics used you as an example of a guy buying into the system and maybe putting his own personal needs or desires aside for the good of the team. And you guys have all done that with AC. Can you talk about what it takes to buy into that and how AC has gotten you guys to do that. BROCK HOLT: Yeah, I think it's easy. From my point of view it's easy because we're all trying to do the same thing. I think anyone would be lying if they told you that they don't want to play every day, they want to sit on the bench some and only play twice, three times a week. So I'd like to play as much as possible, but I get to play for the Boston Red Sox. And it's one of those things from early on AC told me, he's like, "Hey, you know, you're going to be a big part of this team but you're not going to get to play every day." And it's about understanding your role, and leaving your ego at the door. Obviously I feel like I'm a good player and can be an everyday player, I feel like. But that goes back to me getting to play for this team and being a part of this. And I think everyone in the clubhouse would say the same thing. This is a special group and we're very fortunate to be where we're at. We're all in this together. So whoever is out there, we're going to be pulling for them, and the guys who aren't, we're going to be ready to go when our name is called. Q. What has impressed you most about Andrew Benintendi and what do you think his ceiling is? BROCK HOLT: Yeah, Beni never ceases to amaze I think anyone. He's just a really good baseball player. He can do everything there is on a baseball field except for maybe throw. Sorry, Beni (laughter). I always give him a hard time about his arm. He works hard. He's a young kid who has had success every step of the way. We're lucky to have him. But he works hard. You're not going to see too much excitement out of him, you've seen some in the postseason, and that fires me up because he's locked in right now. He's locked in and he's -- I don't think he's reached anywhere close to his ceiling. I don't know what that ceiling is, but I know he's going to be a good player for a long, long time. The Boston Red Sox did a good job of drafting him. He's a big reason why we're at where we're at. Q. Players obviously have their own ideas about how they should be used or when they should play. When you see a manager like Alex, who seems to make a lot of the right moves a lot of the time, when you guys as players seeing that, what does that do for his credibility in the clubhouse or just to know he seems to have a good feel with what is going on with you guys? BROCK HOLT: Yeah, I've heard Alex say a hundred times it's because we're talented. Don't take credit away from him, he's good at what he does, and he's got reasons why he does things. And I've said this before, he's one of the smartest baseball people I've been around. He knows the game in and out. He grew up around the game. He played it for a long time and he's seen it from all angles. He's got a method to the madness, and the strings he's pulling are for a reason. And I think we have success in those situations because of him letting us know beforehand what the situation might be, where we're going to be used. So, yes, we have a lot of good players but he knows what he's doing. Q. How significant has your bullpen's performance this postseason been to get where you're at right now, three wins away? BROCK HOLT: Yeah, it's been huge. They've been lights out. I mean, I think we might have been the only ones who believed that they could do what they're doing. We've got a lot of good arms in the bullpen. They've proved that this postseason. They've kept us in games, they've kept other teams from scoring when we take the lead, and that's what you gotta do. All these games are critical. Every run is critical. And they've done a good job of shutting the door when we need them to shut the door. And that's the reason why we're in the position we're at. Q. In Spring Training I guess Alex was really conscious about not overworking the starting pitchers, and even some of the relievers, and during the season making sure that the everyday guys got some rest. How did you all balance that, getting as rested and fresh for October with the need to win in the moment? Was it something you all understood as it was happening? BROCK HOLT: Yeah, I mean, I think that's important. I think it's important to give guys breaks. The baseball season is long. And I think we all knew that going in. I think he preached that in Spring Training. He said, we're going to give guys days off. And I think having as many talented players as we do made that easier for him to give guys like Bogey a day off or Beni or Mookie or J.D., even. So whenever you have a deep group I think it makes that part easier. And to be a good team, to be a championship team you've got to have help from everyone. And we kind of knew that going in and we've done a good job of doing that. The guys who fill in have done a good job of producing. And obviously our main guys have been really good, as well. The pitching staff, we've had guys come up from Triple-A and help us out. Brasier who came up kind of early on, middle of the season, and been lights out for us in the bullpen. That's what it takes. We've got a 40-man roster for a reason and you need help from everyone. Q. Go back to what you said about Benintendi. What kind of scouting report would you offer on Mookie and also on Jackie Bradley? BROCK HOLT: As far as how to pitch to him? Q. What kind of players they are, how good they could be and individually. BROCK HOLT: I think Mookie has proven how good he can be. In my opinion, and probably a lot of other people's opinions he's going to win the MVP this year. So I don't feel like that one needs a whole lot of explaining. Jackie is the same way. Obviously everyone talks about his defense. We all know how good he is in center field and probably going to win the Gold Glove this year, well deserved. But offensively he's gotten big hits for us over and over again. He's a guy that we have all the confidence in the world in, obviously, playing center field but when you've got a guy like that hitting in the bottom third of your order who can drive in runs, who can get big hits for you and can steal bases for you, we've got a lot of good players and he's one of them. Those three guys in the outfield, doesn't get much better. Q. Have you heard whether through social media or in any other way from anyone at Taco Bell today? And what would it take for you to give their product another try? BROCK HOLT: Oh, man, I don't think I'll be trying Taco Bell. I'm sorry, Taco Bell. I mean, that's just my opinion. I'm sure a lot of other people love it. I deleted Twitter, I'm sure if I had Twitter I would hear something, but I deleted Twitter last year. I don't know if Taco Bell has an Instagram but they haven't messaged me or tagged me. I apologize to Taco Bell. I'm sure a lot of people will get their free tacos, though. Q. You've been here in Boston for a few years now, and obviously this offense reached another level, and J.D. Martinez has a lot to do with it. In terms of the way you guys game-planned and all the data that's given to you guys, and how it's conveyed, has that been different this year in terms of how it's conveyed and what's being conveyed? BROCK HOLT: I think yes. I mean, we've had meetings before this year. Obviously we go over pitchers. We go over the team that we're playing. But this year we've -- before every series we would go over the majority of the team and then we go over -- we have a little hitter's meeting before each game, I just got back from it, where we go over that day's starter. And we kind of go over plan of attack that day against that certain guy, and everyone kind of talks. Guys who have had success against him, how you see the ball, what it does. And I think that's helped guys kind of have a better plan going into the game, a better approach going into the game, kind of what we're looking for as a group. And then how we think he's going to attack certain guys and stuff like that. So the more prepared you can be going into a game, the better off you're going to be, the more chances of success you're going to have. So Tim Hyers has done a great job, Andy Barkett, our two hitting coaches have done great with that. J.D. kind of brought that over. He's the study man. So he watches a lot of video and kind of tells -- he helps out the right-handed hitters. And then we've got Mitch Moreland and guys like that who can help the left-handed guys of what we're trying to do off of a certain guy, and how we think he's going to attack the righties and the lefties. Q. Today's pregame ceremony, the 2004 Red Sox, all of them with their World Series rings, will be throwing out the first pitch. How inspiring is that to the players and the impact on you? BROCK HOLT: Yeah, I mean, that's huge. Everyone's goal starting out is to win a World Series. And to say that you're a world champion, especially in a city like Boston is huge. So we're all trying to follow in those guys' footsteps. They were able to do it. We're trying to get there. So I think that will bring a lot of energy to us and into the fans here tonight. Q. As someone who's played all over the field, how do you think Mookie would fare if he ends back at second at any point at Dodger Stadium? BROCK HOLT: I said this at media day, I don't doubt anything anymore of what Mookie can do. I'm sure if he plays second, he'll probably be the best second baseman in baseball. He's just one of those guys who can do everything. It's a little frustrating at times. He used to play second, obviously. So he's got a little background. It's been a while. So watching him take ground balls, he's a little shaky. But he wasn't a right fielder, and he turned himself into the best right fielder in baseball. If that's the case, if he plays second base, I have no doubt that he'll do a great job. Q. Obviously Alex has received a lot of accolades for the way he's managed this team. But just looking back on John Farrell, winning the World Series championship in 2013, two divisional titles, what would you say is the difference between the two? BROCK HOLT: You know, for me personally it's communication. Being able to know what's going on, what's going through his head, when we're playing, when we're not playing, certain situations where we might come in during the game. It just makes it so much easier as a team to go out and perform. There wasn't a whole lot of communication in the past. And just kind of the vibe that he brings, the looseness. Not being too far removed from playing himself, he understands the game is hard. And he believes in us. I just think the overall vibe that he brings to the team, to the clubhouse, is so positive that it's easy for us to go out and kind of do what we've been doing. Q. Curious to get your read on two things: First of all, the organization's trust in you through all the ups and downs and your journey over the last couple of years has certainly been a unique one. And secondly, what do you think of the term "utility infielder"? BROCK HOLT: Yeah, I mean, I had a rough two years leading up to this one. Pretty good the two years before. I always felt like when healthy, I can be a good player and help us win. And I feel like they felt like that, too. It was just a matter of, are you going to get healthier or are you not? And they gave me a chance to stick around and get to the point where I'm at now. And so for me it makes me want to go out and be better and do better for this organization, for this team. So I can't thank them enough for not quitting on me, because there were times when I wanted to quit on myself. So that means a lot. I mean, obviously there's nowhere else I'd rather be than right here and thankful to be able to put on this uniform every day. And the term "utility infielder" just kind of followed me around for a while. I'd like to be known as a second baseman or whatever, but being a utility player has given me the opportunity to play in the Major Leagues, and that's always been a goal of mine. It's allowed me to be where I'm at right now. It's allowed me to have the success that I've had, have the failures that I've had. And it's allowed me to see the game from a lot of different angles and a lot of different positions. It's something not a lot of people can say. So I'm thankful for everything that "utility player" has brought. But you talk to a utility player, and we all think we can play every day and be a pretty good player. But, like I said, if I was that, I wouldn't be here where I'm at. So I'm thankful for that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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