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AL DIVISION SERIES: RAYS VS ASTROS

October 5, 2019

Michael Brantley

Houston, Texas - pregame 2

Q. Has Kyle Tucker been open to talking to you about just kind of learning the game and have you had many conversations just helping him out along the way this year, the time you've been together, spring training and the last month?
MICHAEL BRANTLEY: Yeah. You know, Tucker is a great kid. He came up here after a phenomenal season in AAA, fit right in. Been playing really well, been playing really hard, asking the right questions and being a great teammate.

Q. Michael, what have you thought about all of the "Uncle Mike" stuff from your teammates when they use that?
MICHAEL BRANTLEY: It makes me laugh, puts a smile on my face. I know George, Red, they love it. They pick on me all the time about it. Puts a smile on my face. I enjoy it.

(Laughter.)

Q. What do you think about them coming into the news conference to see you doing this?
MICHAEL BRANTLEY: It's Rondeau's fault for bringing me in here in front of them. I knew they would do something. If they're together, they're up to no good.

Q. During spring training, you talked about being in the postseason with this team. Just your reflections on the season, getting here, and what you think going forward with them.
MICHAEL BRANTLEY: First off, this is a great group of guys that worked hard every day to get to this point. To come here, to come to a winning team, to come to a team that had potential to get to the postseason and win a World Series was my main goal this off-season.

To fit in right away, they made me feel comfortable from the front office to my teammates to the season I had is because of them. It's not because of me. It's because of the hard work they've put in as well.

To be in this situation where we've all been working so hard for, glad to be here.

Q. Michael, pitchers set strikeout records literally every year in MLB. You've maintained your ability to make contact and quality contact. How much harder is it to do that now than when you broke in? What do you do to kind of maintain that skill?
MICHAEL BRANTLEY: Yeah, it's difficult. Pitchers are throwing harder than ever. I think the average velocity is up as well. The spin rate and the technology that all the pitchers have against hitters, there's a lot going into it, a lot of data is going into this.

For me personally, I just try to stay within myself, don't try to over swing. I never go up just trying to hit home runs or do anything out of the ordinary that's not going to work for me or for my team.

Pitchers are getting better. It's kind of scary, because the harder they keep throwing, it's like, when are they going to stop throwing over 100. Everybody starts throwing hard nowadays. So it's tough.

Q. Michael, George has credited you a lot this year for a guy that he can go to for on-field, off-field help. Where have you seen the biggest growth in him since you've been with him for this year, since you've come to the Astros?
MICHAEL BRANTLEY: I believe the maturity of his swing and him starting to understand his swinging for within himself. He'll come back to the dugout and give me a full dialog of what happened, what he needed to change next at-bat and he'll go out there and do it.

I think that's the final stage of hitting. He's a phenomenal player that I got to watch all year. He's a special teammate, special player. He's only getting better. I think that's the scary part. But at the same time, he's still learning and still evolving and still asking questions and still trying to get better. And he's going to get better.

Q. Michael, you've had a limited sample size against Blake Snell, but success against him, including a home run opening day. Why do you think you've had success against him and, also, what makes him tough?
MICHAEL BRANTLEY: I don't know why I've had success against him. He's a really tough pitcher. It's a battle every time I get in the box against him. What makes him tough is he has above-average pitches. He throws hard. I'm left-handed, obviously he's left-handed so it's a little extra difficult for that situation.

He's a competitor out there. We've had some battles before, and it's a fun AB every time I get in the box, a competitive AB. But when you have plus pitches across the board, it's going to make it tough on anybody.

Q. Michael, you were talking about the pitchers and all of the advanced data that they have, et cetera. Obviously, the shifts and defenses have changed the game quite a bit.
How about for hitters? How much more information do you have now than you had when you came up? Do you and your father ever talk about how much more data you have than he had when he was playing?

MICHAEL BRANTLEY: We have video in the dugout now, we have advanced stuff in the hitting side of access, breaks, you name it. Spin rates. We know all that as well. At the same time, you've got to go up there and kind of apply it and see the ball out of the hand and still be a baseball player at the end of the day.

When you get in the box, it's all about timing and rhythm and making sure you have a good approach. That goes back to the basics for me and trying not to put too much information and data into it and still be a baseball player at the same time.

Q. Michael, what are some of the most important lessons you took from being around the Mets when your dad worked there and you were, I guess, 10, 12 years old?
MICHAEL BRANTLEY: For me, it's how hard everybody worked. What they did to prepare for each game, what the best teammates did, who were the leaders, what, kind of, the leaders did in those locker rooms that people went to. For me, growing up there was an honor and a privilege and a blessing for me to have my father even bring me to the games and bring me into the clubhouses.

But just sitting back and really listening and paying attention, just seeing how hard everybody worked. The ultimate goal was to get to the Major League level. A lot of guys did that there. But the preparation and time they put in every day was the thing I took away from it most.

Q. Do you have any one player you were close to or emulate?
MICHAEL BRANTLEY: No, I can't, because so many guys have reached out and helped me through my entire career, even as a kid. So I feel like I'd leave somebody out that I really wanted to say when I got to my locker that I didn't say here. A lot of guys have helped me out.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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